


i'm always waiting for you to be waiting below

by Proximity_Breach16



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, F/F, Happy Ending tho, Jealousy, Mhenelope brotp, Minor Jethan, Minor Mandon, No powers or magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, and they have baggage, did i mention slow burn already, im a million percent serious about the slow burn, im so so sorry i didnt think this through, it’s a time, kinda fake dating?, likee probably the slowest burn youve ever seen in your life, lots of banter, more tropes but i dont want to spoil, my super bad attempt at comedy, one-bed trope, penelope gets a backstory, please dont read or get mad if you cant deal with it, they go karaoke at one point, theyre just in denial, when i say slow burn i really mean it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-18 13:16:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 69,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21711367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Proximity_Breach16/pseuds/Proximity_Breach16
Summary: The first time Josie Saltzman meets Penelope Park, it isn't love at first sight or a meet-cute. In fact, it's more of a meet-ugly. It involves an irritated Josie, an amused Penelope, and an elevator.AKA a slow slow sloooow burn of two people who hate each other and then swerve their feelings around each other until they really can't anymore lol
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Lizzie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman, Penelope Park & Josie Saltzman, Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 242
Kudos: 646





	1. it's so cold that your stare's 'bout to kill me

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic as a result of me really really really not wanting to study for finals! 
> 
> Plz come back Penelope Park, the kids miss you!!
> 
> Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where it all began

The first time Josie Saltzman meets Penelope Park, it’s definitely not one of her best moments. To be fair, she had a REALLY not-so-fun-day.

This included her morning alarm not going off and her having to rush her morning routine, the coffee shop running out of her favorite pastry and getting her non-lactose coffee order wrong (neither of those things has happened before so that should have been an instant indicator that today was NOT going to be a good day), multiple trips to the bathroom because of said coffee, terrible stomach pains throughout lectures, and a pop quiz in her English class on a reading she did not do (okay, maybe that one was her fault, she should have done it the day before instead of pulling a classic college student mistake and setting an early alarm to do it; it still sucked though). 

To top it all off, she spent the past 5 hours at work arguing with customers about what was considered “returnable”. 

(In just the first two hours alone, at least 3 customers attempted to return items that weren’t even bought at the store and another 2 customers attempted to return kitchen appliances that still had food residue on them.) 

Every shift at the store reaffirmed Josie’s belief that there was a special place in the afterlife reserved for people who worked in the customer service industry because some people were truly idiots.

She would have immediately quit after her first shift if it weren’t for 3 things: 1. Her boss paying her almost double of minimum wage due to her perfectly crafted this-is-BS smile and high-pitched “calm” voice (darn you student loans!) 2. Her want to actually help these people as best as she could (darn you selflessness!) 3. Her inability to disappoint the boss by having him to deal with the never-ending horde on his own (darn you need to be a people-pleaser!))

While Josie impatiently waits for the elevator doors to open, she keeps jamming the up button of the elevator repeatedly. She perks up a bit at the thought of how there was only a quick elevator ride and about 10 steps until she could call it a day and collapse inside the safety of her own home.

She sighs with relief as the doors finally open and she steps inside with quick haste. 

As she pushes the number 20 button on the control panel, she hears the front door to the lobby swiftly open and a sharp voice yell “Hey, wait up!!”. 

Josie looks up and sees a shorter, raven-haired girl making her way to the elevator at a leisurely pace. She had a nice sense of style that matched her chill demeanor, which included a loose, faded black tank top, ripped, black jeans, a red and black flannel wrapped around her waist, and black, worn-out combat boots. 

_She’s cute._ Josie thinks to herself while giving her a once-over. 

What WASN’T cute was how slow she seemed to be walking and the grin that covered her face, like she knew that Josie would wait for her, regardless of her obvious not-even-trying-to-be-quick pace. 

Josie blinks at the girl and hesitates for a bit before rolling her eyes and ultimately deciding that she didn’t have time for this, cute girl be damned. 

Any other day, she probably would have waited. But she’s had a painfully long day and the exhaustion was starting to sink into her bones. She quickly places her thumb on the door closed button and pushes as much as she can, praying the doors would shut. 

However, just like the entire day before her, things don't go her way and the doors don't shut right away. Upon seeing Josie’s frantic movements, the girl starts running towards the elevator with widened eyes. Unfortunately for Josie, she is able to slip herself through the elevator doors right before they close, barely making it inside. 

She is suddenly face to face with the girl, taking in her furious facial expression. Exhaling very loudly, Josie prepares herself for the incoming verbal assault and the headache that she was sure to follow. Sharp, green eyes bore holes into Josie’s brown ones as the stranger yells “Seriously?? What the fuck is your problem?”.

 _That’s just great._ Josie thinks to herself as she shuts her eyes and leans back against the back wall of the elevator.

“Are you seriously going to ignore me and pretend I’m not here?” the stranger scoffs.

 _Maybe if I don’t pay attention to her this will all be over soon. What’s the worst that could happen?_ Josie thinks as she doesn't make any effort to change her current position. 

As if her day couldn’t get any worse, a prolonged, clicking noise fills the silence of the elevator. 

Josie’s eyes spring open and fall upon the stranger’s face, which has a wicked grin and mischief dancing in her eyes. Her face morphs into confusion until she looks behind her at the control panel and sees EVERY SINGLE floor button glowing. Her jaw drops and a feeling of disbelief overtakes her as the elevator abruptly stops.

The doors open onto the third floor as the stranger slowly backs out of the elevator, shit-eating grin plastered on her face and green eyes never leaving Josie’s. 

Josie slowly slides her hand down her face, internally crying and trying to accept the fact that it would now take an extra 10 minutes until she could crash onto her bed and contemplate never getting up again. 

“Are. you. fucking. kidding. me. right. now.” Josie says in a tired, monotonous tone. 

“Have a nice trip, asshole!!” the stranger cheerfully exclaims, followed by winking and finger guns. 

“REALLY?? I’M THE ASSHOLE? WHO THE HELL TAKES AN ELEVATOR TWO FLOORS UP?” Josie yells exasperatedly. 

The stranger’s loud laugh echoes throughout the hallway in response and the last thing Josie sees before the elevator doors close is the stranger blowing her a kiss. 

As the elevator stops again five seconds later, Josie thinks about how she has never contemplated murder up until this point in her life. As the elevator stops again on the next floor another five seconds later, she thinks about how she’s pretty sure she’s never hated anyone more than one raven-haired girl that she truly had the displeasure of meeting.

(That includes people she's met at the customer service desk, so that's REALLLLY saying something.) 

_If I ever meet that girl again, I swear…._ Josie thinks to herself as she slowly sinks to the floor of the elevator while the doors open for what she swears is the 50th time in the past minute. 

Later that night, as she finally drifts off to sleep, Josie’s last thoughts are those of cocky smiles, piercing green eyes, and death wishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from 1950 by King Princess
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments below! 
> 
> Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru


	2. is it alright to feel this way so early?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA revenge is so so sweet. 
> 
> More shenanigans with these two lovebirds. 
> 
> Also, we love one Hope Mikaelson!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My finals literally start tomorrow, call me the queen of self sabotage!

The second time Penelope Park encounters the elevator stranger is about five days later, and it's when she least expects it. 

At approximately 4 am on a Saturday night, Penelope drunkenly thanks her Uber driver as they arrive at her apartment building. Stumbling out of the white Prius, she is suddenly hit with the cool LA breeze, a stark contrast to the heater from the car. Penelope starts to struggle a bit with finding her keys, patting down the front and back pockets of her jeans as well as her left and right jacket pockets. When she comes up empty, she tilts her head back and lets out a frustrated groan. 

_Great, that makes this the fifth set of keys I’ve lost. Hope might actually kill me this time._ She pulls her phone out of her back pocket and mentally braces herself to get yelled at when she hears soft clinking noises cut through the early morning air. Penelope’s head snaps up and she suddenly locks eyes with big, brown ones. _Ohh my God,_ she thinks to herself, _that’s just perfect, the girl that I screwed over just a couple days back._

She was dressed in a soft, over-sized, cream sweater that complemented well with her black leggings. Judging by the tub of ice cream recently bought from the 24 hour corner store wedged in her armpit and her comfortable choice in clothing, Penelope makes the assumption that she spent her Saturday night in and just went out to get her sugar fix. Suddenly, Penelope is made hyperaware of the stench of booze, sweat, and sex that currently emanate from her going-out clothes. 

After a couple awkward seconds of silence and the other girl looking like a deer caught in headlights, Penelope decides to make the first move. Maybe, hopefully, she forgot who I am? she silent hopes. Forcing a wide smile across her face, Penelope lets out a casual, higher-than-usual pitched “Heeeeeey!” while lifting up her right hand. The other girl quickly narrows her eyes in response and yanks the door to the lobby open. 

“Damnit”, Penelope mumbles to herself while she runs the short distance to the front door. The other girl barely manages to pull the door shut by the time Penelope reaches it. A triumphant smile and gleaming eyes appear on the stranger’s face before she turns away, making her way towards the elevator. 

“Are you serious right now? It’s 4 am, you’re really gonna leave me out here??” Penelope yells through the front door while the doors to the elevator opened. The stranger stops dead in her tracks, and lets out an exaggerated sigh. She slowly turns around and makes her way back to the lobby door, opening it for her. 

“Thank you! You know for a second I really thought-” 

Penelope is only five steps through the door and mid-sentence when the stranger abruptly pushes both of her arms out, effectively shoving Penelope onto one of the lobby couches. The stranger then full-on sprints to the elevator, leaving behind a shocked and speechless Penelope. “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!” Penelope slurs while the elevator doors re-opened and the girl walked through them. 

The stranger then has the AUDACITY to yell “you’re welcome” and wave excitedly while the elevator doors closed, leaving Penelope to process what just happened. She was really annoyed at admitting defeat this time around, but seeing the glowing, triumphant smile on the other’s girls face softened the blow a bit. Damnit, why was she so weak for a pretty face? Still, her ego was at stake and damn-it-all if she was about to risk that for what could be a valid comparison to a some-what aggressive, life-sized teddy bear.

\----------------------------------------

“Is this all reallllly necessary? It’s kind of harsh Penelope.” Hope says in an amused tone.

“Don’t be ridiculous, of course it’s necessary. She LITERALLY resulted in physical violence the last time we met. This is officially war, Hope.” scoffed Penelope. Penelope looks back at Hope and is met with a mildly entertained expression.

“Ohhhh is that what this is? I thought it was some sort of intricate plan to get the girl.”

“And why would you think that?” Penelope says exasperatedly

“I don’t know, maybe cause the past week or so it’s been elevator girl this elevator girl that. If I didn’t know any better, I would say someone has a bit of a cru-ush.” Hope sing-songs.

Penelope stops working to briefly shoot Hope a strange look. “Cause, you know, the last time I checked, you could just ask a girl out instead of going through all this trouble to get her attention. I’ve never seen you so worked about somebody, like ever. She must really be something.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell you what she is, a pain in the ass!!” Penelope grunts while attaching tape to the sign. 

“What’s that?” Hope jokes while cupping her hand over her right ear dramatically. “You think she has a nice ass?” 

“Shut up Mikaelson, why are you even here?”

Hope rolls her eyes in response. “You’re the one who told me to come, so i can see what she looks like just in case she decides to kick our front door down to kill you. And also so she could get the initial seal of girlfriend approval from your BEST FRIEND in the WHOLE, WIDE world.”

Penelope fake gags, “Literally stop, you’re making me nauseous. Okay, now how does it look?”  
“It’s kinda crooked, a little more to the left would be good. Perfect!” Hope exclaims. 

“Now where was I again? Oh yeah, how much you’re in LOVE with the B in apartment something…” she grins, waggling her eyebrows at Penelope.

Penelope playfully shoves Hope in response. “I’m so done with you Mikaelson. Oh shit, she’s coming! Quick, pretend to look busy!” Penelope whispers as she proceeds to panic and forcefully throw the roll of duct tape down the hallway.

\----------------------------------------

The stranger walks into the lobby with a super confused look on her face as she proceeds to stop in front of what appears to be an overly dramatic game of chopsticks while hearing what can only be described as a loud raucous, echoing down the long hallway with no intention of stopping.

“Ohhh heyyyy, how’s it going? Totally didn’t see you there.” Hope says in a horrible attempt to be non-chalant as they stop their hand game. Penelope mentally cringes at Hope’s awful acting and looks up at the girl. She shoots the girls a stink-eye in suspicion as they shift from Hope to Penelope back to Hope again.

The stranger decides to ignore them and heads towards the elevator, stopping in front of the large OUT OF ORDER sign taped in front of the up button. She immediately turns to Penelope and a stare-down occurs as the roll of duct tape seems to rapidly slow in momentum, creating background noise of an object spinning to a stop.

Hope flickers her eyes between the pair’s showdown and she wants to burst out laughing, but Penelope quickly shoots her a look that screams _don’t you fucking dare, Mikaelson._ Penelope shrugs and asks the stranger “Can I help you with something?” in a sickly-sweet voice with a fake-smile plastered on her face. A couple seconds pass awkwardly until the stranger loudly sighs with an “I guess not” and starts to make her way towards and up the stairs.

As she watches her walk away, Penelope can’t help but think that _Wait, she actually looks adorable today. Yellow really suits her. And that’s really impressive, yellow is not an easy color to pull off. And she actually does have a nice… DAMN IT MIKAELSON!!_

Hearing Hope say, “Hate to see her go but love to watch her leave” and snicker while nudging Penelope snaps her out of her thoughts. “Damn, alright, I get it Park, all your behavior makes sense now.”

“Yeah it’s justified cause she’s evil! She didn’t even answer you, what a bitch.” Penelope spits out.

“Okayy but to be fair, we didn’t really sport the look of innocence very well.” Hope says sheepishly.

“We?? Speak for yourself, you’re actually one of the worst actors I’ve ever seen!” she retorts.

“Whatever, she was already sussed from the start. The only reason she kinda believed it is cause you kindaa went all out and decided to get the sign laminated. Look, are you gonna get your roll of tape or what? Cause I’m totally not gonna help you look for it.”

“Oh yeah, be right back.” Penelope says as she takes off down the hallway to find it before the alarm on her phone goes off.

After a couple minutes, Penelope returns to Hope holding a beat-up, out of shape tape roll in her hand and proceeds to rip the OUT OF ORDER sign off the wall. “You know,” Hope says as she places a hand on Penelope’s shoulder, “she’s actually really cute and I’m really happy for you! Once y’all start dating, could you find out if she has a brother or sister? For research purposes…. Obviously.” Hope says cheekily. 

“So we could be related? Absolutely not.” Penelope deadpans. After a couple beats, she realizes what she’s said and quickly turns to Hope with wide eyes. “I mean, not like I’d ever consider even dating someone like her in the first place.” 

“Mmhmm sure.”

“I swear to God Hope Andrea Mikaelson, I’m gonna strangle you in your sleep if you don’t stop it.”

“Nahh, you wouldn’t even consider murdering me, cause then you’d have to find another roommate and best friend. Also you love me too much to do that Penelope Gilbert Park.” Hope laughs while Penelope shoots her with a death glare. “Whattt? You’re the one who won’t tell me your middle name! What am I suppose to do?” Hope exclaims while Penelope’s phone alarm goes off and she pushes the up button on the elevator. 

“Or would you prefer to call you PP? I think PP sounds way worse than Penelope Bertha Park. PP just sounds like an STI or something.” Hope states matter-of-factly while they both get on the elevator.

“On God, do you ever shut up?” Penelope groans.

“Whatever, I got a bit side-tracked there but just don’t forget to make me your maid of honor!” Hope grins.

Penelope shoots daggers at the shorter girl and waits until the very last second before the doors close to shove one smiley Hope Mikaelson out of the elevator.

\----------------------------------------

Okay, maybe Hope had made some valid points. Maybe she did do a lot of work for this, not to mention having to find out what her rival’s schedule is like and getting a sign laminated and working out the correct timing for everything. (She did have to figure out how much time it would take to take to climb 20 flights of stairs, both Hope and her had to do it twice and she made approximate adjustments based on them having a lot shorter legs than the girl; she had to buy Hope In-N-Out for 3 days straight just to get her to stop complaining.) Maybe she did usually have a lot more chill than this.

But Penelope couldn’t help it. Something about the taller girl who tended to look undeniable cute while also looking at her like she wanted her to die on the spot really rubbed her the wrong way. Penelope was almost sure it had something to do with the fact that she’s ALWAYS been the HBIC and no one has ever waged war on her before, especially twice. Whatever, Penelope wasn’t in the mood to linger about why she couldn’t just let it go. Maybe she was beginning to regret taking this too far, she was only shoved onto a couch, after all. 

But all that regret seemed to disappear the moment the elevator doors opened and Penelope saw the hunched-over girl, who was gasping for air and dripping in sweat, with a dumbstruck look on her face, staring in utter disbelief as a shit-eating grin Penelope proudly held a laminated sign and an extremely deformed roll of duct tape. Priceless, really. 

\----------------------------------------

There were not enough words in the English language to describe how much Josie Saltzman despised that ~~extremely attractive~~ green-eyed, raven-haired girl. Okay, she’ll admit that maybe she could use a bit more exercise and could be a bit more in shape. But it would have been nice if she was warned before it was going to happen!! Being pushed onto a soft surface TOTALLY did not equate to being tricked into doing extreme cardio. If the other girl was going to play dirty then fine, she was just going to have to up her game.

\----------------------------------------

Josie entered the lobby a week later, surprised to see ~~her~~ THE stranger in front of the mailboxes.  
“Yeah, I’m opening the box right now Hope. Yeah, your package isn’t in here dude. Buuuuut…., there’s a slip in here. It says that Mr. Mejias signed for your package.” the stranger says into her phone.

Josie hesitantly approaches and greets the other girl with a soft “hey”.

Penelope looks startled as she turns away from the mailboxes, confusion etched over her face. “Yeah, yeah, fine, I’ll get your thing from Mr. Mejias. You owe me though. I gotta go, I’ll see you later.” She says into the phone and hangs up. 

“Ummm, hi?” she asks with confusion still dawned on her face. 

“You know what, I’m sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot. Do you think we could start over? I’m Josie Saltzman.” Josie states with a polite smile as she sticks her hand out.

The stranger stares at her hand warily for a few seconds before taking it into her own and gives it a couple of shakes before dropping it. 

“Suree, why not, I guess. Penelope Park.” Penelope says in a reluctant tone.

Josie nods and walks away from Penelope while she finishes up with the mailboxes. She pressed the up button and the elevator arrives less than a minute later. Both girls walk into the elevator and Josie presses the number 20.

“You going to see Mr. Mejias?” Josie questions from the back wall of the elevator as Penelope pushes number 35, the level in which their landlord lives.

“Yup.” says Penelope as she moves to stand in between the elevator doors and Josie in an effort to not make conversation with the other girl. The elevator whirrs to life as both girls stand in silence.

Josie suddenly pulls Penelope backwards and turns her around so that she can stare directly at her. “Uhhh yes?” Penelope asks in an extremely confused tone.

“Just why are you so mean to me?? You know my calves JUST stopped being sore literally yesterday.” Josie complains.

“So much for a peace offering.” Penelope sighs “You started this whole thing, whatever this is!” she remarks.

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to continue it!!” Josie snaps as she crosses her arms against her chest. 

“It’s okay to admit that you actually want and like having my attention. Don’t be embarrassed, everybody does.” Penelope smirks.

“Nope. You know what I think?” Josie asks as she takes a step closer to Penelope. The smirk from Penelope’s face drops instantly. Josie’s voice drops a bit before simply stating “I think that you’re doing all this because you're the one that's into me.” 

Penelope's cheeks heat up instantly in result of being completely thrown off by the power shift in their conversation. “Wh-what? That’s ridiculous. W-why would you think that?” Penelope manages to splutter out as she instinctively takes a step back. 

Josie leans down to whisper into Penelope’s left ear and slowly sticks her tongue out to wet her lips. “Because maybe I’m into you too.”

Josie leans back a bit, stopping a couple inches away from Penelope’s face as Penelope audibly gulps. All Penelope can hear is the rushing of blood in her head as her eyes flicker to Josie’s slightly parted lips.

“Really?” Penelope rasps as her throat has suddenly become bone-dry.

“Mmmhm.” Josie mumbles as she stares at Penelope’s lips. 

Penelope feels like she might be in a trance as her eyes flutter close and she starts to lean in until…

 _DING!_ The elevator doors open onto the twentieth floor.

“SIIIIKE!!!” Josie yells into Penelope’s face as Penelope’s eyes snap open. Josie quickly moves around Penelope and slides her hand down the wall, hitting buttons 21-34 so that they glow. 

Josie runs out of the elevator and only turns around briefly to yell “SUCK IT, PENELOPE PARK!!!” just as the doors close, leaving behind a flustered and slack-jawed Penelope Park.

\----------------------------------------

In all honesty, Josie Saltzman probably should have seen this coming. Lizzie warned her if she put bad vibes out into the universe, they would come back to her eventually. 

_“Seriously Josie, karma’s going to come back to bite you in the ass, trust me. You should stop messing with her, only bad things are gonna come out of this. Also, I’m not saying you sound obsessed but you sound obsessed with her. You should probably try to focus on someone new instead of some weirdo “rivalry” you have with whoever the fuck Penelope Park is.”_

About a week later, Josie opens the door to the lobby and sees the elevator doors still open. Hoping to catch the elevator, she sprints through them right before they close. Only then does Josie realize that she isn’t alone. Again, she comes face to face with none other than Penelope Park, who was leaning against the side wall, closest to the control panel of the elevator.

“Oh for fucks sake.” Josie mutters out before reaching over and pressing her floor number on the console. 

“Josie Saltzman, what a pleasure.” Penelope says with a smirk across her face.

“Hello. Satan incarnate.” Josie grumbles out.

The two stand together in silence until the elevator jolts and the lights suddenly go out. Josie isn’t prepared for the abrupt shift and loses her balance. ~~Un~~ luckily for her, Penelope acts on reflex and ends up catching Josie as she falls. The elevator lights flicker back on ten seconds later and the first thing Josie sees are bright, green eyes sparkling down at her. 

“I knew you’d fall for me sooner or later.” Penelope chuckles as she waggles her eyebrows.

Josie rolls her eyes in response and quickly moves away from Penelope. Her skin instantly feels cold and her heart stutters a bit to protest the action, already missing the warmth and physical contact from the other girl. 

Penelope moves to the control panel and tries hitting a couple of the floor buttons and the door open button but to no avail. “Shit.”

“Oh God this can’t be happening.” Josie says in disbelief as she drops to the ground. “What do we do? Should we call for help? Or something, I don’t know? WHAT HAPPENS NOW? WHAT DO WE DO?” Josie looks to Penelope with large, panicked eyes.

“Woahh, alright, calm down. Don’t panic. I’ll figure it out.” Penelope stares at the control panel for a bit before eventually pressing on the phone button. A dial tone rings out for a couple of minutes until a muffled “hello?” comes from the speaker. 

“Hello? Hi, my name is Penelope Park and uhhh…. we’re kind of trapped in an elevator. The power went out or something and now the elevator won’t move.” 

“Oh yes, hello. Unfortunately, there’s been a huge, city-wide power outage. All the elevators in Los Angeles stopped working and we are trying our best to fix ‘em as soon as possible. We sent out all our teams to stop by all locations and they should be around soon.”

Penelope grits her teeth in response and asks, “Oh I see. And uh, when exactly is soon?”

“Which location are you at?”

“We’re in an apartment complex in Westwood. 10162 Cornelia Street.”

“Ahhh yes, The Legacy complex? Yeah, that’s gonna take probably 3-4 hours, depending on how fast they can get the others done. As much as I’d like to stay on the line and chat, I gotta go. The phones are going crazy off the hook right now. Sorry, bye!”

The two stare at each other in silence, Josie with a tired, defeated look on her face and Penelope with a mischievous, gleeful look on hers.

“Sorry, looks like you’re stuck with me.” Penelope shrugs with a glint in her eyes and smirk on her face.

Josie groans and proceeds to repeatedly hit her head against the elevator wall.

_Greatt, a night trapped in a tiny box with the she-devil herself. This is going to be a long night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henelope rights!!! I SAID WHAT I SAID. 
> 
> I have a theory that in an alternate universe, Hope is actually happy and gives me “Check this box if you wanna kiss me, Check this box if you wanna kill me.” vibes. Basically Parasite/Brain-Worm Hope.
> 
> For the past two chapters, I’ve just been laying out groundwork/establishing stuff and so it’ll be more dialogue from here on out! Next chapter is pure Posie so if you’re into that, stay tuned! 
> 
> I’ve also been outlining chapters and I plan on making it 16-ish chapters?? There’s some really fun stuff coming up, especially group dynamics and ofc more Posie!
> 
> Also I know it’s literally unrealistic to live in an apt with 35 floors but like, just go with it lol.
> 
> Fun Fact: I use to live in an apartment complex in LA actually called Legacy so that’s fun!  
> Another Fun Fact: My friend lives in New York and she actually lives on the 20th floor and her elevator goes out at least once a week. I thought it was funny that these things actually do happen haha. 
> 
> Lastly, thank you for all the comments and kudos!! It really means a lot to me.
> 
> Chapter title from Softly by Clairo (if you aren’t listening to her, what are you even doing with your life??)
> 
> As always, let me know what you think in the comments below! 
> 
> Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru


	3. but i can’t help but ask you are you bored yet?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA Penelope decides to test the theory that you can annoy someone into talking to you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaahhh, thank you all for helping me reach 100 kudos!! It was a really nice surprise to see after my horrible final. :) 
> 
> I just wanted to release this chapter ASAP after that....mmm let's just say, SUPER INTERESTING & WELL WRITTEN Legacies mid-season finale (if you catch my drift; but forreals though, what the (redacted) was that fight I was forced to watch...) so my bad for any typos/mistakes I wasn't able to catch!
> 
> Without further ado, here is chapter 3!

Growing up, Penelope Park quickly discovered that everyone around her thought she was somewhat special. She possessed the perfect combination of wit and charm, up to the point where everyone either wanted to be her or be with her. Penelope also had an intimidating quality about her, people wouldn’t dare mess with her unless they were looking for trouble. The ones who did eventually backed off after a couple rounds with the HBIC. 

Everyone she met wanted to get to know her, like she carried an enticing aura of mystery with her wherever she went. Penelope thought the opposite of people; they were simple and predictable, too easy to figure out. 

These were all things Penelope thought she knew to be true. That is, until her most recent encounter with Josie Saltzman.

\----------------------------------------

As she was forced to ride out an elevator stopping on 15 levels repeatedly, a breathless, baffled Penelope tried to understand why Josie Saltzman wasn’t affected by her charm. Josie could have folded when Penelope told her to admit that she was attracted to her. But she didn’t. Instead, she called Penelope out on her bluff and turned the tables on her!

Penelope was also surprised that even after two revenge plots, Josie was still fighting to be the one that ended up on top. On top of that, she couldn’t comprehend how Josie was able to play her so easily. She was suppose to be the seductress, not the seductree!! 

( _Wait, is that even a word?_ Penelope thinks to herself. _Oh my God, who is this girl and why can’t I think straight right now?_ ) ~~(no pun intended)~~

In addition, she hadn’t shown a single sign of wanting to get to know her, which was driving her crazy. She literally pushed her into a couch instead of attempting a simple conversation with her! 

Penelope would be lying if she said she hadn’t noticed Josie around before. She’s seen the taller girl around campus a couple times before (playing her ukelele on the school lawn on a nice sunny day, having a crying meltdown at doggy therapy day over a corgi who was wearing a cupcake hat, participating in a couple protests on student loans and other issues, etc.). Penelope had also seen her at a couple frat parties with some blonde and other friends. (She distinctly remembers seeing Josie on multiple accounts clearly having a bad time but pretending to have a good time when her friends checked on her so they wouldn’t feel bad about dragging her along.) 

After seeing Josie in all these places, Penelope had come to the conclusion that this girl was the epitome of selfless, walking sunshine. However, Penelope was pleasantly surprised to find that the elevator-versions of Josie that she had encountered didn’t seem like the girl that everyone thought she was. Penelope liked that she saw a different side of Josie than what the rest of the world saw. She also liked how every encounter she’s had with Josie has been unpredictable. 

That girl was the opposite of practically everyone Penelope has ever met and Penelope would be lying if she said she wasn’t a bit intrigued by her.

\----------------------------------------

One thing that Penelope knew for almost a fact was that people were utterly boring. She could not, for the life of her, stay interested in someone for more than a couple of meet-ups. Not to mention the majority of those said meet-ups ending with someone insistently pleading to stay longer while Penelope was trying to find her shirt that was offhandedly thrown somewhere. Penelope would always leave with a quick kiss and a false promise to meet again soon, leaving behind a hopefully stranger and any thought to contact them ever again. (Hope once told Penelope that her unofficial motto was “out of sight, out of mind” due to her inability to care/think about someone once they’ve done the deed or she became uninterested once again.)

So imagine Penelope’s surprise when thoughts of a certain adorable, brown-eyed stranger would intrude onto her thoughts at random moments during the day throughout the week (when her professor would drone on about the third wave of feminism in the lecture hall, when she would be in the middle of her second set of lifting dumbbells at the gym, when a stranger’s lips would be creeping down her neck in a dark bathroom stall of a sketchy club, etc.). No matter what she did, Penelope could not escape from the thought of Josie Saltzman.

Before their somewhat actual conversation, Penelope would constantly dread meeting the other girl. However, after the almost-kiss that happened in the elevator with her, Penelope couldn’t help but secretly wish they’d bump into each other again.

\----------------------------------------

As Penelope turned around to press the buttons on the elevator, she saw a familiar face outside the lobby door, cutely scrunched up in concentration as she dug through her backpack to find her keys. Penelope ignored the slight uptick in her heartbeat as she weighed her options. Obviously, she wanted to talk to her. She’d been thinking about her the entire week, imagining time and time again on how their next conversation and interaction would go. She wondered if anything had changed between them or if they would just pretend they didn’t share a somewhat intimate moment with one another. Somehow, she knew that Josie would not willing want to interact with her, regardless of how much the other girl wanted her to. 

As she pulled the door open, Penelope laid her back flat against the elevator wall so that she was out of view from the taller girl. Her right hand hovered over her floor button but quickly moved downwards to press the door open button repeatedly. As the sound of pounding footsteps moved closer to the elevator, Penelope stopped pushing the button and leaned against the wall, anxiously waiting for Josie’s arrival. She didn’t want to scare Josie off though, so she pulled out her phone and typed out a text to Hope.

_Your wish is about to come true, I’m about to encounter the one and only Josie Saltzman. If you don’t hear back from me in an hour, she is definitely already probably hiding the body lol :p_

As Penelope realized there was no signal and her message wouldn’t send, she heard a mumbled “oh for fucks sake” come from the other girl. Judging from the look of disgust displayed on Josie’s face when she saw her, Penelope was correct in assuming that the other girl would rather be doing anything else with anyone else instead of interacting with her. (Penelope ignored the little flicker of hope that died in her chest, that maybe, just maybe, Josie wanted to see her again too.)

So when the operator’s voice from the speaker sentenced them to 3-4 hours alone with no distractions, she was all too gleeful to be stuck inside a metal box with the only girl in the whole world who genuinely hated her guts.

\----------------------------------------

Hope was going to have a field day with this. After Penelope told her about their last encounter, she couldn’t stop laughing and claiming that she was a freaking psychic. Her teasing throughout the week was already bad and Penelope couldn’t even deny her accusations like half the time (But she did anyways cause they’re rivals, right? Right??)

One currently popped into her head: _The next time you see her, you’ll probably be alllll speechless cause THE PENELOPE PARK is a bisexual disaster and has no chill around pretty girls. Especially ones who tease and sexually frustrate her and then leave._

At the time, Penelope slapped Hope’s shoulder and told her off for how wrong she was. But now that Josie was actually in front of her and she couldn’t ignore her presence, she really didn’t know what to say or do. She wrung her hands together nervously, begging her brain to come up with something, anything really. She noticed that Josie had finally stopped hitting her head against the wall a while ago and moved into closing her eyes territory, so maybe that was a good sign? 

Josie pulls her phone out of her backpack, hoping to kill some time on Twitter and be in complete denial of the girl currently sitting in front of her’s presence.

“There’s no signal, I already checked.” Penelope says.

“Of course there isn’t.” Josie sighs. “My phone is almost dead anyways.”

The conversation abruptly dies there, with Penelope looking at Josie with slightly widened eyes, hopeful that she would continue talking to her. Josie, on the other hand, has her eyes fixed on the ceiling and silently hopes that the ceiling would come crashing down so she wouldn’t have to spend another minute with the bane of her existence 

This continues on for a minute until Josie lets out a loud sigh and takes her backpack off. She starts taking out all the items in her bag and takes a mental note of what she has. 

“Are you scared we’re gonna be in here for a while? Cause I’m pretty sure it’ll be fine. No need to take inventory. Plus, if it came to it, between eating your textbook pages and dying, I’d rather take the latter option.” Penelope rambles on.

“She says, assuming I’d even share my pages with her.” Josie says, clearly annoyed by Penelope talking.

Josie meticulously goes through the contents of her bag, organizing them into piles based on pocket location and function. As she is halfway in the process of organizing her color pencils, she suddenly looks up. She is suddenly met with Penelope’s amused face and a raised right eyebrow.

“Can I help you?” Josie says exasperatedly.

“Is this what you usually do during your free time? It really explains a lot.” Penelope jokes.

Josie’s face starts to turn red and she frowns. “No, of course not.” 

“You know, for some reason, I don’t believe you.” 

“That’s funny, cause I don’t really care what you believe in.” Josie snaps back.

A full minute passes, the only sounds in the air of Josie putting her things back inside her backpack. To Penelope’s relief, it seems as if Josie actually doesn’t carry a lot of items with her. She thinks that maybe, just maybe, that she’ll finally be able to talk to Josie with no distractions.

That is, until Josie pulls a pencil sharpener from a tiny pocket on the side of her backpack. Josie starts on the left side of the line of colored pencils and begins to sharpen them one by one. This goes on for a while. Josie looking extremely content with sharpening her pencils while Penelope looking like she kinda just wants to pull all her hair out. 

Once Josie gets done with sharpening all the reds and greens and is working on the third shade of blue, Penelope can’t take it anymore.

“This is such bullshit, we’re literally only on the third floor. We didn’t even make it that far!!” she blurts out.

“Stop complaining, Penelope. That’s your fault, you’re the one who took the elevator when you could have used the stairs.” 

“What the hell? Why would I ever do that?” Penelope asks, confused.

“Uhh…..don’t you live on the third floor?” Josie questions.

“No, I live on the 18th…?”

“So why did you exit the elevator on the third floor on the night we first met?” Josie asks calmly.

“Uhhh… Because I wasn’t going to stand in an elevator that stopped for 17 floors straight?” Penelope says like it’s the most obvious thing.

“So you did that stupid prank even though it prevented you from getting home? You wanted to piss me off that much?” Josie asks angrily, her voice quickly rising to a higher level.

Josie’s eyes are now blazing and Penelope doesn’t know what else to do except shrug and flash a sheepish smile.

“You closed the door on me, totally justified.” 

“I can’t believe you. You’re the actual worst.” Josie deadpans as Penelope feels her stomach drop and kind of wishes to sink into the floor.

\----------------------------------------

“Are you bored yet?”

Penelope’s question is met with a deafening silence.

“You’re gonna have to talk to me sooner or later.” she sighs.

As if it was even possible, Penelope is met with even more silence. 

_Come on Penelope, you can do this. She’ll talk to you eventually. You still have about 2 hours left. There’s no way she hates you that much._ Penelope thinks to herself.

\----------------------------------------

Another five minutes pass without a single word from either of them. Penelope decides to try another method and starts talking nonstop, regardless if Josie will respond to her or not. She starts telling anecdote after anecdote, all with the similar theme of Penelope being in unfortunate circumstances. 

She tells Josie of the time she went camping last (it ended with everyone scratching themselves raw after setting up camp surrounded by poison ivy), of the time she went to the beach and thought a jellyfish stung her (she was running around the beach, dramatically asking strangers to pee on her; later, after her friends returned from lunch and she convinced one of them to pee on her, she found out it was just a scratch she received from a coral while swimming), and of the time she walked in on her roommate with her sister (it was Christmas and the only thing she had on her wishlist that year was one of those Men In Black pens to erase her memory). 

The whole time she talks, Penelope is met with dead silence but from her periphery, she can see secret smiles from Josie here and there. Penelope can see her exterior slowly chipping away, her guard dropping ever so slightly. But by the time she finishes telling her the story of how a 5-year old Penelope got her arm stuck in a Pringles can (her brother told her it would have to be amputated and this led to her sobbing while running around and waving her arm frantically and hitting it against random things), Josie lets a genuine laugh out and for the first time that night, Penelope doesn’t think that all hope is lost.

\----------------------------------------

After a while though, Penelope gets tired of hearing her own voice. She pulls out her phone and starts to play music, the opening notes of a once popular pop song filling the air. A couple beats pass and Penelope thinks that maybe Josie will yell at her to turn it off. Penelope looks to Josie with challenging eyes and Josie looks back to her with curious ones. Penelope starts off, in her most obnoxious, off-key singing voice : 

“YOUR STARE WAS HOLDIN', RIPPED JEANS SKIN WAS SHOWIN', HOT NIGHT WIND WAS BLOWIN'.” Penelope somewhat sings while making a dramatic hand motions, such as a fanning motion with her right hand.

“WHERE YOU THINK YOU'RE GOIN' BABY!!”” Penelope screeches while pointing at Josie, ending the lyric with a horrendous voice crack) 

Josie just sits there, staring at Penelope with widened eyes, and Penelope thinks for a split second that she messed up. 

_Greatt, this is so awkward now. Nice going, Park! Not humiliating at all!_ Penelope thinks to herself. 

Penelope silently berates herself until Josie cracks a humongous smile and bursts out laughing, Penelope following in suit. 

"Oh my God, please stop, I can’t take this anymore. Also, you know I'm not going anywhere soon." Josie manages to get out between bursts of laughter. 

"Ohh, so she knows how to speak." Penelope teases.

"Maybe…?" Josie responds with a small grin and a slightly tilted head. 

"Hmm, you think I won’t do it again?" Penelope smiles sweetly, starting in a voice as twice as loud and obnoxious than the last. 

"AT FIRST SIGHT AND IT'S REAL, I DIDN'T KNOW I WOULD FEEL IT BUT IT'S IN MY WAY!"

~~Penelope ignores the slight increase in her heart rate as she recognizes the irony in the lyrics~~

"NOOOO SERIOUSLY,STOP IT PARK. I MEAN IT!" Josie whines but with an amused tone. 

"Fineee, I'll stop." Penelope says after a beat. "But… for every song that plays, you have to tell me something."

"Tell you something? Like what?" Josie questions with a frown. 

"Anything really. It's up to you, the world is your oyster Josie Saltzman." Penelope states with outstretched arms. 

Josie looks as her disbelievingly, clearly not convinced. Penelope raises an eyebrow and makes a dramatic show in getting ready to belt some more lyrics out, taking in a deep inhale of breath and opening her mouth. 

Josie's eyes widen quickly as she yells out "WAIT, NO OKAY, I'LL DO IT!" 

She sighs, and proceeds to tell Penelope in a monotonous tone about the snail that she saw today that was truly effervescent. 

Penelope perks up a bit at that, chuckling at the fact that Josie would use a weird Twilight meme out of anything that she could have possibly said. Josie smiles a bit at that, happy that Penelope understood her joke. 

They sit in a somewhat comfortable silence for the rest of the song, Penelope tapping along to the beat with her index finger on her tucked-in knees and Josie bobbing along with this song.  
Before they know it, the song ends and the next song starts playing.

Penelope lets the first ten seconds of the song play before prompting Josie with a "You know the deal, Saltzman." 

"Wait seriously?? I thought you were joking.." Josie groans and the look she receives in response tells her that no, Penelope was in-fact, not joking.

"I hate you, Penelope Park and actually think you're really, really annoying." Josie says in a matter-or-factly tone and Penelope can't help but flinch slightly in response. 

_Damnit, I really thought I was making progress. I guess not._ Penelope thinks to herself in a defeated tone. 

Penelope forces a closed-mouth smile onto her face and softly says "I know." in response.

Silence fills the air while Penelope stares at the ground and mourns the loss of the friendly atmosphere and Josie looks at Penelope with something that looks a bit like regret in her eyes. 

"Hate’s kind of a strong word though, don't you think?" Penelope suddenly says with knotted eyebrows and an adorable pout on her face. 

A flash of relief displays across Josie's face before saying, "Finee, I don’t hate you. But I do despise you and think you’re annoying."

"Gee, thanks for sparing my feelings Saltzman." Penelope sarcastically replies with an eye-roll as the tension in the air disappears. 

As the next song comes up, Penelope looks at Josie and lifts a single eyebrow, motioning towards the phone placed in the middle of the elevator with a head nod. 

Josie's eyes flicker to the music playing device and the color of Penelope’s purple phone case instantly reminds her of home. She kind of wants to tell Penelope about it, so she does. 

She tells her that the color reminds her of home, how it’s identical to the shade of her favorite flower, the hydrangea. She tells her how beautiful they look in the springtime when they start to bloom. ~~But quickly remembers not to mention that they aren't nearly as beautiful as the girl sitting directly in front of her.~~

Josie also mentions that she also frequently sees them in pink and white, and that they grow on the outskirts of the woods that surround her childhood home. But her all time favorite is the purple one because it is also her mom's favorite, and one of her earliest childhood memories is picking them with her and her twin sister, she adds on with a gentle voice. 

Penelope has a light smile on her face in response, silently appreciating the far-away wistful look on the other girl's face and recognizing the look as being homesick.

Josie's eyes snap back to Penelope, a light blush crossing her face in realizing she just spent the last minute gushing on about flowers. Josie braces herself for Penelope making fun of her for being lame until she surprises her and does quite the opposite. 

"Huhh, that's really interesting. The hydrangea has multiple meanings but the purple one specifically means a desire to deeply understand someone, which is kind of ironic if you think about it. You know, cause you don't want to get to know me." Penelope jokes. 

"The pink one represents heartfelt emotion, which might represent you. I'm not really sure though because the only one I've ever seen you be is angry at me, if I'm being honest." She chuckles.

"Last off, the white one means boasting or bragging, which I can definitely associate with you." Penelope says with a grin on her face as they both think back to the times Josie has retaliated against Penelope and the blinding mega-watt smile that appears on her face afterwards. 

Josie's mouth opens and closes like a gaping fish in response, clearly at a loss of words for the other girl. An extremely confused look has made a home on Josie's face as she ultimately chooses not to say anything in response, tightly pursing her lips together. 

Penelope then picks up her phone and scrolls through it to try and find another song to play. Through her peripherals, she can see Josie sneaking what attempts to be subtle glances at her for the rest of the song. 

The song that Penelope queued comes up and Josie immediately perks up in response to the familiar melody. She excitedly starts recounting how she’s seen this band live, how it was the first concert that she’s ever been to. How her sister surprised her with tickets on their birthday after dinner, how they had to climb out their bedroom window and down the big maple tree in their backyard. How it gave her her first taste of teenage rebellion and freedom and how invincible it made her feel. How it was one of the happiest experiences she’s ever had with her twin. 

Penelope can’t help but admire how it’s the happiest she’s seen the girl since they met (while not inflicting any cause of pain onto Penelope, of course).

When the next song plays, Josie starts talking without needing prompting from Penelope. The song reminds her of the summertime in her hometown, how there’s a local band that plays a cover of it in the town square every year on the last night of a summer festival under the stars.  
This leads to a tangent about her love for summer, how hydrangeas start to bloom in the spring but reach full bloom and look their most beautiful in the summer. She talks about how they surrounded the lake she spends most of her summer at, the fireflies that light up the night alongside the immense sky of stars, the melted strawberry popsicles and the all-too-sweet lemonade. 

“Hmmm, I think I might have a pretty good idea on what your favorite season is.” Penelope cheekily grins.

Josie flashes a quick smile at Penelope before closing her eyes to take in the music, swaying and humming along to the music.

Penelope thinks that she’s never looked more beautiful and at peace before.

This leads to Josie sharing story after story about her missed childhood and Penelope listening intently, taking in every second of a Josie Saltzman that doesn’t despise her. The way her eyes seem to shimmer under the bright elevator lights, the way she has a special smile reserved for her and her twin sister’s shenanigans, the way her eyes dim slightly when she brings her dad up, the way her hand motions become more and more exaggerated the more excited she gets. 

After a couple minutes go by, the music app freezes but it doesn’t even matter to the pair (they don’t even notice because they weren’t going by the songs anymore) as they are completely absorbed in each other’s company, conversation flowing freely in the air.

\----------------------------------------

Eventually, the conversation dwindles down to a comfortable silence when Josie gets too tired to keep on reminiscing about the past, content with just sitting under the low hum of the elevator lights.

Penelope thinks _This is it, this is the part where we get back to reality and sit here in silence until the elevator people find us. Goodbye friendly Josie Saltzman, it was nice knowing you!_

That is, until Josie cries out, “UGHHHHH, why do bad things happen to good people?? This is getting ridiculous.” Josie puts her face in her hands and groans loudly.

“You do realize that when we first met, you literally tried really hard to shut the elevator door in my face right?” Penelope questions.

“I was having a bad day!!” Josie yells out.

“It couldn’t have been that bad, you ended up meeting me.” Penelope tilts her head and grins cockily. 

Josie scoffs, “Okay, you do realize that when we first met, you’re one of the reasons why my day was so bad right?”

The grin quickly drops off Penelope’s face and is replaced with a grimace as she replies with “touché.”

Fiddling with the rings on her fingers and intent on looking anywhere that isn’t Josie, Penelope sighs and says “Look, I admit that our first….” 

She stops her fidgeting hand movements in order to be able to count with her fingers.

“four encounters could have gone better. I’m sorry for pushing all those buttons and making you climb 20 flights of stairs. It was childish and I was being petty.”

“Apology accepted. Thanks!” Josie says with a smile and nothing more.

Green eyes narrow at her while the other girl asks her “Anything else you have to say?”

“Mmm, I don’t think so.” Josie rubs her chin thoughtfully .”Yeah, nope! Nothing at all!” she exclaims.

Penelope’s mouth gapes wide open as she turns her head to look to the side of the elevator (as if she’s looking at a fourth wall camera, like in the show The Office) and sports a speechless facial expression.

“I… fine, I’m sorry too. I guess.” Josie mumbles.

“Wooow Saltzman, that should definitely go down in history as one of the worst apologies ever.” Penelope says dryly.

“Okayy fine, fine. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done. It was rude of me to do all those things. Truce?” Josie questions as she crawls across the elevator, sticking out her right hand to Penelope. 

“Really?” Penelope questions with an eyebrow raise. 

“Yes, really.” Josie insists.

“Huh, I don’t know if I believe you.” Penelope says in a cautious tone.

Josie frowns. “What? Why wouldn’t you?”

“Well, the last time I accepted an apology from you, I ended up stuck in an elevator stopping on 15 floors consecutively.”

“Well then, I guess you’re just going to have to wait and see if I’m telling the truth this time…” Josie says, with a promise of something that Penelope can’t quite place gleaming in her bright, brown eyes.

In that moment, as she places her right hand into Josie’s, all Penelope can think about is that she would gladly have Josie in her life as an enemy than not at all.

\----------------------------------------

“Ughh this totally sucks, this is not how I wanted to spend my Friday night at all.” Josie complains.

“Ouch, you wound me Saltzman.” Penelope says as she places her hands over her heart.

Josie rolls her eyes. “After the long week I’ve had, I, at the very least, deserve to be relaxing in the comfort of my own bed right now.”

“Hmm, let me guess.” Penelope says as she rubs her chin thoughtfully. “Your ideal Friday night consists of…binge watching the Great British Bake-off, a cucumber face mask, and…. a nice glass of kombucha?”

Josie scoffs. “No, not kombucha. A nice glass of Pinot Grigio.” she mumbles softly but still loud enough for the other girl to hear. 

(Since the handshake, both girls have moved to the back wall of the elevator to face the doors. Penelope made a solid joke about how if Josie wanted to be closer to her, all she had to do was ask but Josie insisted it was just so they don’t have to waste energy to speak loudly across the elevator.)

Penelope’s shoulders shake with laughter. “That’s practically the same thing, they both taste like ass!!” 

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with self care.” Josie defends as her face starts to turn a light shade of pink.

“Oh no, I completely agree. It’s just super cute that you’re so predictable.” Penelope says as Josie’s mouth forms into an adorable pout. 

“Tsk tsk, I kinda expected more from you Josie Saltzman.” Penelope teases as she pokes Josie’s arm.

Josie swats Penelope’s finger away as she retorts, “Oh yeah, and you think you’re not?? My turn, let me guess. YOUR idea of an amazing Friday night includes top-shelf whiskey, some sort of illicit drug use, and the company of some stranger who you somehow managed to seduce for the night…. Tell me I’m not right.” 

Penelope scoffs and looks offended as she says “you’re totally wrong”.

Taking in her response, Josie is genuinely surprised and feels a bit guilty about making unwarranted assumptions about the other girl. 

_Maybe I was wrong about Penelope Park._ Josie thinks to herself. _Maybe she’s actually a huge softie who likes to stay home and knit/crochet things and reads and memorizes meanings of flowers and has an Instagram like a pinterest mom and all this was a front in an attempt to look more cool… Maybe there’s more than meets the---_

“I’m much more of a tequila girl.” Penelope shrugs with her eyes shining with glee and a smirk on her face. “Which, thanks for reminding me…” Penelope trails on while unzipping her backpack and pulling out a sealed sandwich bag with 5 perfectly rolled blunts in it. “Peace offering?” 

_Loool nevermind._ Josie thinks. 

Josie’s jaw drops instantly and her eyes grow comically wide at the spontaneous sight of the drug. “What the fuck??” Josie blurts out. “Do you just carry drugs around with you wherever?”

“Uhhh, yeah. It’s kind of like the major requirement of being a drug dealer. Why? Is something wrong?” Penelope says casually with knitted eyebrows as she re-zips her backpack.

Josie is caught off guard by the news and manages to mutter out, “Uhhh yeah... you know what, I’m not sure being friends with the resident drug dealer is the best idea for me…”

Penelope stares at Josie for a couple seconds before bursting out into laughter. “I’m totally kidding, I don’t sell drugs. This is just for personal use. This weed is legal, you can use it recreationally in California remember? It’s from a medical clinic.”

Josie’s shoulders drop at this and she looks slightly less bothered than before. “Yeah, I know the law. Wait, actually though, you bought this through a business?”

“Uhhh no sorry, if I’m being honest.” Penelope grins sheepishly. “I was just trying to make you feel better! I’m really not in support of contributing to the growing amount of established dispensaries and the gentrification of weed. Maybe I’ll show up and consider supporting when it becomes decriminalized in every state. Also, it’s not reasonable for people to stay behind bars for past marijuana charges when people now can do the same thing and make thousands, if not millions of dollars just because a couple of laws were passed. And don’t even get me started on the whole issue of the war on drugs and the problems that it has caused in marginalized communities cause that’s a whole other conversation.” Penelope rambles on.

Josie is shocked into silence due to the fact that Penelope Park might actually be a thoughtful person? And she might also be very socially aware of current political issues? She didn’t peg her for that kind of person at all.

However, Penelope mistakens Josie’s silence for hesitation and says “Look, I’m not going to pressure you into doing it. I’m not about that at all. You know, free will and everything." she says while making vague hand motions in the air. "I just thought it would be kinda fun. Relieve the tension a bit.” Penelope shrugs. 

Josie is about to question what she means by tension but decides against it because she’s sure it will lead to some witty quip about sex or something. 

“Obviously, if you don’t want to, I won’t do it either. Cause that would be just rude.” Penelope states.

In one fluid motion, Penelope scoops up the baggie and starts to unzips her backpack. “It’s totally fine, I understand. Really, don’t take this the wrong way but I kind of expected it.

Josie gasps, “What’s that suppose to mean?” 

“Uh, N-nothing, nothing bad. It just seems like you wouldn’t do this kind of thing.” Penelope hesitantly responds.

“What makes you think I wouldn’t?”

“You really want to know?” Josie nods. “Alright then, you just kindaaa look like a narc.” Penelope shrugs.

Josie doesn’t know why but she gets offended by this statement. It’s not as if she has anything to prove to Penelope or anything but nothing stops the next words from slipping out of her mouth. “I’ll have you know, Park, that I have done smoking weed 3 times already!!”

Josie mentally facepalms at her badly worded slip-up and prepares to get teased by Penelope.

Penelope dons a shit-eating grin on her face while laughing gleefully. “Done? Done smoking weed? And as many as 3 times?? Watch out y’all, we got a badass over here!!” 

An embarrassed Josie does the only thing she can think of and leans towards Penelope with an outstretched arm. “Give me that!” Josie says sharply as she snatches the baggie away from the girl. 

“Noo I didn’t mean it, I swear. Wait, are you actually a narc? Please don’t arrest me! I can’t go back to prison. Not again!” Penelope jokes with her hands up in the air.

Josie rolls her eyes so hard that for a second, Penelope thinks they might get stuck in the back of her head. “I’m not even going to justify any of those things with a response. Where’d you get these?” she questions as she opens the sandwich bag and lets the distinct smell of weed waft through the air. 

“You know, this isn’t helping to convince me that you aren’t one.” Penelope teases.

Josie takes one out of the bag and twirls it in between her fingers as she narrows her eyes at Penelope.

“I know a guy.” She simply shrugs.

“Now THAT doesn’t sound suspicious at ALL.” Josie replies sarcastically.

Penelope lets out a laugh. 

“Trust me, it’s good stuff. He grows his own plants in his garage with high-tech lamps and his own fertilizer formula. He even reads them bedtime stories and plays them classical music. Don’t worry, I would only offer the best weed to the best girl.” Penelope says with a wink.

Josie feels her face heat up slightly from the unabashed flirting coming from the other girl and concentrates her efforts on un-reddening her face instead of actually replying to Penelope. 

“Soo... are you in or not, Saltzman?” Penelope asks with a mischievous look in her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thanks to everyone who has read the story so far! It still blows my mind that people actually want to read words I wrote, it means a lot. 
> 
> Secondly, thanks for all the comments! Whenever I get stuck, I read the comments and they help me get re-motivated to figure it out. :) So thanks again!! 
> 
> Hope y’all have a good week! 
> 
> Chapter title from Are You Bored Yet? by The Wallows feat. Clairo
> 
> As always, let me know what you think in the comments below! 
> 
> Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru


	4. she's got you high and you don't even know yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA Penelope tries to win/flirt her way into Josie's heart 20 feet up in the air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y’all! Happy Holidays!! Here is my present to you, a whole 8.5k word chapter! Hope you enjoy! :)

Josie Saltzman has always been labelled a "good girl" her whole life. She was mostly known throughout elementary and high school as Lizzie's younger, quieter sister or the perfect model A-student. She had a reputation as a people-pleaser, always doing what other people wanted her to do, especially when it came to her father or twin sister. Josie has had a lifetime of practice pushing down her own feelings and putting other people first. It didn’t matter how negatively she felt about the situation, putting on a front of happiness and pretending to be okay had become her default. Over time, taking care of others and doing the right thing had become second nature to her.

However, Penelope Park seemed to be the exception to this. Since the moment she saw her, all of that was thrown out the window. It seemed like the only thing on her mind when it came to the other girl was _revenge revenge revenge_. She was extremely infuriating and caused Josie emotional turmoil within herself. Josie was pretty good at controlling her feelings but whenever she interacted with Penelope Park, it felt like she was on a nonstop emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes, Josie wasn’t even sure what she was feeling when she was with the other girl.

That included this current moment, with Penelope looking at her with a daring look in her eyes. This _let’s get into trouble together_ look made this unknown feeling grow deep inside Josie’s chest, made her feel uneasy but also warm at the same time. Josie really wasn’t sure what to make of this and she definitely wasn’t in a mood to analyze why it was that she was feeling this way.

All she knew was that she didn’t want to feel it anymore and that maybe getting high would be a good way to go in order to stop the ongoing confusion. She also knew that if she was going to spend the next couple hours or so trapped in an elevator with Penelope Park and her incessantly irritating flirting, it sure as hell wouldn’t be sober. 

\----------------------------------------

"Do you have a lighter?" Josie asks confidently.

Penelope's eyebrows raise dangerously close to her hairline, genuinely shocked at Josie’s request. "Wait really?" she asks as she breaks into a big smile and Josie nods slowly. 

"Uhhh yeah, yeah I got one! One lighter for drugs, coming right up!" Penelope digs around in her bag for a little while, her tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth and Josie can't help but find it a bit endearing.

"Here you go." Penelope hands Josie a black lighter with GIRLS RULE scrawled across it in white, cursive writing surrounded by sketches of flowers forming a circle. 

Josie puts the blunt in between her lips and mumbles a thanks. She then feels Penelope stare intently at her with large, curious eyes and begins to feel her initial confidence fade, which causes her to cease her movements and hesitate a bit. 

"Do you want me to start it off?" Penelope asks after a while when she realizes that Josie probably isn’t sure on how to do it due to her lack of experience. Josie smiles a silent thanks as she passes both the lighter and blunt to Penelope. 

In what seems like practiced and perfected motions, Penelope places the blunt in her mouth, hovers her cupped hand over the other end, and lights it. She keeps it in her mouth as she takes a couple of quick inhales to make sure the blunt is actually burning and plans on staying lit. 

Josie stares at Pen with widened eyes, telling herself she's curious about the whole process ~~But deep down, she knows she just wants an opportunity to unashamedly stare at Penelope.~~

Penelope eventually takes a deep inhale and then closes her eyes and tilts her head back, inhaling deeply a second time to let the smoke fully fill her lungs. Finally, she slowly exhales, and a large, growing cloud of white smoke starts to envelope both girls. 

Penelope opens her eyes slowly and Josie's vision suddenly fixates on galaxies of deep green. In that moment in time, Josie feels hypnotized and her mind immediately goes blank. 

She knows it's bad, but the only thought that forms in her head is that if everyone saw how hot Penelope Park looked while smoking, anti-drug/marijuana campaigns didn't stand a chance at all. 

This only lasts for a couple seconds until the sudden movement of Penelope stretching her arm out to hand her the blunt enters her vision. 

Josie takes the blunt from her and brings it to her lips, attempting to somewhat mimic the fluid motions that Penelope did previously. She manages to inhale the smoke into her lungs for a couple of seconds until she looks up and makes eye contact with Penelope. The intensity of her stare makes Josie feel like she's had the air knocked out of her lungs and she starts coughing furiously, desperate for relief. 

Penelope springs into action, patting her back furiously while moving to pull a water bottle and makeshift ashtray made out of aluminum foil out of her backpack. 

"Awww, that was sooo close Saltzman. I almost thought you were cool there for a second." Penelope laughs as she places the blunt on the ashtray. Josie glares at Penelope through glossy eyes as she takes a desperate gulpfuls of water with one hand and shoves a middle finger in Penelope’s face with the other.. 

"Wait wait wait. Shit, we didn't think this through; this elevator about to become one fat hotbox!!" Penelope says with huge eyes as she forcefully crushes the glowing end of the blunt onto the ashtray. 

"Wait a sec… do elevators have smoke detectors?? Oh God, we did not think this through at all!! Damnit, why do I EVER listen to you?" Josie groans. 

"Huh... Maybe this could be a good thing...” Penelope says thoughtfully. Josie arches her eyebrows at Penelope and looks at her as if she had grown another arm.

“Think about it. If the alarm goes off, firefighters or some other rescue team will probably come get us. Good plan Josie! I knew you had some alternative motives to doing this, that you weren’t doing this solely for fun."

Josie narrows her eyes at her. "Wow, I can be fun and spontaneous sometimes!! Also, I'd rather die than get rescued by some team, that's embarrassing. How are we gonna explain that? That we're two college students who couldn't make it a couple hours without drug consumption? I don't wanna get in trouble or be humiliated." Josie pouts.

Penelope’s nods in understanding as her eyes shift frantically around the elevator, her search for a solution being fueled by the fear that Josie will hate her again if they get in trouble for smoking. Her eyes light up at the emergency hatch on the ceiling, located directly above them in the middle of the elevator. 

"Lemme sit on your shoulders. You know, like at a music festival or concert."

Josie looks at Penelope quizzically until she follows her eye of sight, understanding dawning on her face. 

"Are you serious?" Josie blinks. 

"Uhhh yeah, pretty much. Unless you see some other solution. I'm all ears."

Josie dramatically lets out a sigh and admits defeat, bending down low enough for Penelope to climb up onto her shoulders. She then slowly stands and wobbles for a bit, due to her not being use to the weight of another person and the one hit from the blunt and secondhand smoke starting to take an effect on her.

"Woahh, easy there Saltzman!" Penelope yells out.

Josie stops moving and suddenly swings back and forth, causing Penelope to scream loudly and clutch hard onto her in fear of falling. She giggles in response while she puts her hands around Penelope's thighs in an attempt to stabilize her. 

"Omg, you're so strong Josie! I bet you're glad you didn't skip leg day and climbed 20 flights of stairs." Penelope says and Josie can just imagine the teasing grin on her face.

Josie rolls her eyes as she yells,"Oh shut up Penelope. Hurry up and open it already!"

“Sir yes sir!” Penelope exclaims as she raises her right arm high up in the air. After a while of waving her hand around, she manages to get her hand around the long,red lever. A couple of forceful attempts later, she successfully opens the hatch, a loud creaking noise filling the air. The thick, white smoke starts to dissipate, diffusing into the newly created hole in the ceiling.

"Nice work Saltzman! Not exactly how I wanted your head between my legs but I'll take it," Penelope says smoothly as she laughs. 

Josie all but throws Penelope off of her, the shorter girl hitting the floor hard with a loud thud. 

\----------------------------------------

Penelope pulls her phone out and puts her playlist labelled “AS A KITE” on and the two girls resume smoking the blunt, taking turns taking hits.

("Oh my God, you have a high playlist? I'm TOTALLY not judging you right now." 

"Are you really making fun of me right now Saltzman?? I'm giving you the ultimate stuck-in-an-elevator on a Friday night smoking session experience. My playlist is actual gold and I stand by it!") 

As more and more hits go by, both girls become more relaxed and comfortable with one another. Shoulders drop, lazy smiles form, and slow nodding to music occurs as the drug gradually enters their bloodstreams.

They slowly inch closer and closer to one another, both girls using the passing of the blunt as a guise to get closer to one another. 

All too quickly, Josie becomes too aware of her senses, feeling sparks of what she thinks might be electricity flow from her fingers, up her arm, and spread down to the rest of her body as her hands slowly brush against Penelope's each time they exchange the blunt with one another. It seems as if she has gotten used to the motions of smoking as she lazily exhales, a stark contrast to her first attempt at a hit.

Time seems to slow down for Penelope as she blinks slowly at Josie, her eyes flickering down from seeing deep brown to light pink, Josie’s lips working as a gateway to gradually release a thick cloud of white smoke. Josie catches her and laughs, making fun of her for staring so intently. She tells Penelope to wipe the drool off her chin while Penelope turns a shade of pink, embarrassed about getting caught.

She swallows (It’s the drugs, okay?? Her throat and mouth were as dry as a desert, she definitely wasn’t close to drooling!!) and strongly denies Josie's call-out, but allows herself to secretly admit that Josie actually looks super cool (... and super hot. What can she say? An attractive woman smoking as effortless as Josie is right now? Literally a woman after her own heart, Penelope Park’s own Achilles’ Heel.).

After many rounds of back and forth, the burning of the blunt slows down to a halt, leaving the two girls buzzing with anticipation and opening the night up to be filled with endless possibilities. 

\----------------------------------------

"Let’s play 20 questions."

Josie looks at Penelope in disbelief. "Are we two middle schoolers secretly crushing on each other? Really?"

"Why not?" Penelope shrugs. "We’re stuck in here so we might as well make the most of it? What’s the worst that could happen?"

Penelope is met with silence. "Ohh, I see. Scared you’ll fall in love with me Saltzman? I totally get it." Penelope grins. 

Josie crosses her arms against her chest and scoffs, "In your dreams, Park."

"It’s okay to admit it. You wouldn’t be the first and you definitely won't be the last to fall for yours truly. Anyways, I'll even let you go first."

"Okay, fine. What’s your favorite color?" Josie asks.

Penelope groans. "....Seriously? You could have asked me any question in the entire world and you go for the most basic one? What’s next? What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?"

Josie frowns and Penelope quickly says, "I’m just teasing you, it’s obviously black. It pretty much goes with everything. It's also the color I look the best in. Or so, I’ve been told. I personally think I look the best in every color.” She shrugs.

"Have you always been this cocky?"

"Ah ah ah, my turn to ask a question! Hmmm…., give me a second. Let me think of a good one…" Penelope says as she dramatically places her hand on the side of her face and taps her temple with her finger. "Oooh, oooh, okay. Got one! What's your favorite ice cream flavor?"

"Are you mocking me?" Josie says as she narrows her eyes at Penelope. 

"WHAAAAAT?? I would NEVER do such a thing…" 

"Nope, not answering that." Josie shakes her head.

"Noo, please? It's a serious question. I have an on-going theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their favorite ice cream flavor."

Josie raises her right eyebrow and smiles a bit, intrigued by how Penelope's mind works and wondering if she is actually on to something. "Alright, I'll play along. It's mint."

"Hmm, interesting." Penelope says as she slowly nods her head. "I'd think you were more of a sherbet person." 

"And why would you think that?" Josie questions.

"Well, it looks and sounds sweet and fruity but is actually quite sour." Penelope says matter-of-factly.

"That kinda sounds exactly like the punchline for Sour Patch Kids. Way to not be original Park!" 

"I'm sorry, but are you saying you deny the resemblance?"

Josie laughs as she lightly punches Penelope's shoulder. "Okay fine, that's fair I guess. So what does mint mean then, according to your theory?" She says as she puts air quotations around the word theory. 

"Uhhh that you like to brush your teeth?" Penelope displays a sheepish grin. 

Josie gives Penelope a weird look and then genuinely laughs after that. "That's so dumb." she says as she shakes her head. 

"Shut up, my theory is a work in progress!!"

"Yeah, clearly." Josie snorts.

\----------------------------------------

"Sooo, I'm guessing you go to UCLA too then?" Penelope asks. 

Josie nods and replies back with a "What do you study?"

"Women Studies with a minor in psych. You know? Fight the patriarchy!" she yells with a dramatic fist pump and dopey smile. Josie can't help but crack a smile at that because it's undeniably adorable. "and everything. And you?"

"I have a major in Journalism with a minor in Japanese."

"Oooh, now that’s an interesting combo. What do you wanna do with those?"

"I want to tell stories that matter to people and influence lives. To make a change in the world, no matter how big or small, you know? Sorry, I know, that sounds kind of lame." Josie says with a crinkle of her nose. 

"No, I actually think it's really admirable and noble of you. That's really cool." Penelope says with a nod and a smile. "What about the Japanese part?"

"Oh, I just really like Japanese food." Josie deadpans.

"Are… are you serious? You learned an entire language just cause of your love for sushi??" Penelope asks incredulously. 

"I…. Uh… no?" Josie says weakly as she starts to blush. Penelope arches her eyebrow in response, waiting for a better explanation. 

"I actually can't eat most sushi, I'm allergic to seaweed. My bad, that was a bad joke. I forgot that you didn’t know that about me.” Josie says as she smiles sheepishly. “I'm not learning it for just the food, I’d really like to travel to Japan someday, maybe even live there for a bit."

"That sounds really cool. I've been there a couple times, Tokyo is one of my top five favorite cities. I have a feeling though that if I go there someday with you by my side, it might rise up to the number one spot. I don’t know, there’s something about those neon lights; Tokyo could actually be a really romantic place." Penelope grins as she wiggles her eyebrows. 

"Sureee, maybe someday we'll travel there together. For our honeymoon. Right after we fall in love and get married." Josie laughs and even though she knows she's joking, Penelope's heart can't help but skip a beat just thinking about it. 

\----------------------------------------

"Is Josie short for something?"

"Yes."

Silence fills the air.

"Ummm, ooookay. What’s it short for?"

"Mmm yeahhhh, no. It’s my turn to ask a question."

"Wow, really? You reaaally playing that card right now?"

"Yup."

Penelope shrugs, "Fine by me!" We have…." She looks at her left wrist and pretends to look at a non-existent watch. "About two hours to drive each other insane with questions. I'll get it out of you eventually...Josephine?"

"Yeah, that's not it."

"Damnit!"

\----------------------------------------

"When you were a kid, what'd you want to be when you grew up?" Penelope questions. 

"Mmm no, you're gonna make fun of or laugh at me."

"No, I promise I won't." Penelope says as she raises her right hand and makes a cross-my-heart hand motion with her left. 

"Fine. I wanted to be a witch.”

Josie stares down Penelope as she attempts and ultimately fails to keep a large smile from slowly growing on her face.

Josie hits Penelope lightly on the arm. "You promised you wouldn't laugh at me!"

"What? Laughing? Who's laughing? Definitely not me!" Penelope insists with pure glee on her face. Josie narrows her eyes in response to Penelope’s horrible lie.

"I just think that's really adorable." she drawls. "I can just imagine a tiny Josie running around a house in the middle of God-knows-where Virginia on a broom and a pointy hat yelling abracadabra! at random things."

"Maybe that's how it started but I was thinking something less Halloween and more Hogwarts. What about you?" Josie questions, wanting to move away from the topic before Penelope teases her any further.

"Oh, I wanted to be a superhero." Penelope says shyly.

"Oooh interesting, I can totally see you pulling off an entire hero get-up, with a cape and everything." Josie teases.

"I do have a big thing for capes." Penelope confesses in a whisper.

"I'm not surprised, you're so extra."Josie laughs. 

"You're laughing now but wait until you see me in one, you'll honestly be so floored. I pull them off so well!!"

~~Josie doesn't mention that she thinks Penelope can pull any clothing off well, not just capes.~~

"What superpower did you want to have?” Josie asks in an effort to chase away her previous thought.

“I'm not sure, all I know is that I really wanted to help people. It also stemmed from the fact that I really hated school as a kid and thought superheroes didn't really need to learn anything except how to fight bad guys ."

"Wait a second... You wanted to help people? Is Penelope Park actually a softie?" Josie gasps as she pretends to be shocked at the news. 

"USE to be a softie. I’m now a 100% certified badass. Just please don't tell anyone 5 year old Penelope Park used to want to save the world."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I won't ever tell anyone that little Penelope used to want to run around in a cape and selflessly save people. Your secret's safe with me, Park."

“Thanks.” Penelope says as light smiles are shared with one another. 

"I… I think fire would be awesome." Josie suddenly says in a weird, uneven voice that sounds uncharacteristically unlike her. 

Penelope gives Josie an eyeful with a strange expression written across her face. 

"What?" 

"Mmmmm, nothing. It’s just that the way you said that, it kinda sounded like you were really excited about something and trying really hard not to show it. Are you secretly an arsonist or something??"

"What, no!!" Josie says a little too quickly. 

Penelope squints at Josie. "Well, were you a pyro as a child or something?" She is met with silence and a Josie that has suddenly found a very interesting stain on the ceiling.

Penelope’s jaw drops in realization. "Oh Josie…" she says as she closes her eyes and shakes her head, feigning disappointment.

"WHAT?? It's not like there's a lot of things to do/play with as a child in basically rural Virginia. Can you really blame me??"

Penelope laughs. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone little Josie used to be a little hothead. Your secret's safe with me, Saltzman."

\----------------------------------------

"Is it Josleen?"

Josie sighs. "No Penelope."

\----------------------------------------

"Sooo, are you single?"

"OH MY GOD Penelope, seriously?? At least try to be subtle about it!" Josie shakes her head in fake disapproval. 

Penelope lifts her shoulders in an _oh-well shrug in response._

"No, I'm not. I mean yes, I am." Penelope responds with a slight head tilt and furrowed eyebrows, which reminds Josie of a confused puppy. 

Josie lets out a deep sigh. "It's…...complicated. I'm still nursing a broken heart."

"I see."

"I care too much, it's kind of a problem."

"Huh, I never would have guessed by the way you almost left me out in the cold the other day." Penelope teases.

"Yeah, but I didn't though….. so yeah!! I was always gonna open the door for you, I just wanted you to sweat it out for a bit. You don't know what goes on up here." Josie says with widened eyes as she taps her temple with her index finger multiple times. 

"You right. You right." Penelope nods.

"What about you? Are you single?" Josie asks curiously. 

Penelope starts wagging her eyebrows excessively with a beaming smile until Josie tilts her head back, groaning a "SIGH, never mind."

\----------------------------------------

"What’s the worst thing someone has said to you in an attempt to pick you up? For research purposes, obviously."

"Obviously. Well, a guy recently said to me that he loves my upside down mouth." Josie frowns, clearly weirded out by the memory. 

"I’m sorry, what now? What does that even mean?" Penelope says, thoroughly confused and disturbed. 

"I HAVE NO IDEA, WHO THE FUCK SAYS THINGS LIKE THAT??" Josie screams loudly as Penelope joins her, both of them soon keeling over and gasping for breath from laughing too hard.

\----------------------------------------

"Is it Jojo?" 

Josie sports a super confused look on her face. "Is what now?"

"Jojo. Is Jojo your real name?"

"Why would my nickname be longer than my real name?"

"I don't know, it could be a thing! I know your name, not your story. Well technically, I don't really know your name either."

Josie rolls her eyes. "No, my full name is not Jojo."

"Ohhh, I kinda like it though. It's catchy, it rolls off the tongue. Jojo. Joooooo-jooooooo. May I call you Jojo, Jojo? 

"No you may not."  
.  
"What about Josimothy? Can I call you Josimothy?"

"Omg, are you referring to that one the Office scene?"

"Maybe…"

Josie sighs. "No Penelope."

\----------------------------------------

"I'm just saying, I just think it's really weird how colors work, you know? Like I see blue but you can see yellow but we'll never know. Like I could wear a shirt and think it’s a super dope color but you could see my shirt and think it's the ugliest color ever. Also the person who invented the word orange could see a completely different color than what you would consider to be orange." Penelope says enthusiastically as she puts air quotations around both oranges. 

Josie listens attentively to Penelope's rant, nodding here and there. "Yeah that totally makes sense." she says as the low-volume background song transitions into the next. 

"Also, there could be like colors that you can't see/will never see in your life because the number of specific cells in your eyes are different from everyone else's! Someone could see like twenty extra colors more than you and you'll never know! Cause how would you even describe-"

At first, Josie doesn't hear it at all. But halfway through Penelope's rambling about colors, her mind catches up and her brain finally processes: 

_baby shark doo doo doo doo doo baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo_

and suddenly she can't stop cracking up hard. Penelope's stops talking and her face starts to rapidly heat up. 

"Oh my God, you're low-key a dork!!" she manages to get out in between fits of laughter.

Penelope pouts. "Oh my God, no. Josie, no! Stop laughing at meee!" she whines as Josie laughs harder and wipes at her eyes. "T-this isn’t even my song. It’s my little cousin's, I play it for him sometimes. That's so weird that it got on this playlist." she says quickly, a look of confusion on her face.

"Mhmm, likely story Penelope. I TOTALLY believe you,100%. No doubt, whatsoever.”.

"Omg Josie no, just please keep this between us, okay? Whatever happens in the elevator stays in the elevator." Penelope pleads.

"Why? Does Penelope Park have a cool girl reputation to maintain?" Josie teases. 

"Shut up Josimothy, at least I’m not getting a reputation as a narc!" she retorts.

"Penelopee, I told you I’m not a narc!" she whines.

"Ehhh, technically you said you wouldn’t justify giving me a response."

"If I am one, I'm seriously getting fired after doing drugs with a maybe, potentially drug dealer in an elevator! I'm also pretty sure Josimothy isn’t even a real name. Also, quoting The Office isn’t a personality."

"Neither is hating on it. Where’d you get that from, a Tinder bio?" Penelope questions.. 

"Ahh, of course you have one, I'm not surprised. Do you use it a lot? 

"Why? Worried you have competition?" Penelope smirks. 

"Nope, just making casual conversation.” Josie simply says.

"I use to, a lot. It's more my speed, I guess. I don't really do relationships. You know, damaged goods and everything." she jokes. 

Josie makes a mental note that it sounds like there's a hint of truth, like Penelope possibly believes in what she's saying. 

"What's more your speed?" Josie asks quickly, not particularly enjoying how Penelope is starting to shift uncomfortably on the floor. 

"Meeting strangers and giving them the time of their lives?” Penelope jokes. “To be honest though, I really prefer meeting people in person."

"Let new guess, this is the part where you say something super cliche. Knowing your personality, it'll probably be something about the thrill of the chase." 

Penelope shakes her head. "Not really, flirting is all good fun, regardless if it's in person or not. People think that flirting is mostly talking, but a lot of it is non-verbal cues. Body language is very telling of a person, if you know how to read it well. Plus, it also doesn’t hurt my shot if the person can actually see me, if you catch my drift." She smiles confidently. 

"So, what's your success rate?” Josie ponders out loud and she instantly regrets asking the second it leaves her mouth. 

"What do you think?" Penelope asks with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. 

"Yup, should have seen that one coming. But I genuinely am curious! What's your go to move? Is it some pick up line that shows people you're actually a huge cheeseball?" Josie teases. 

Penelope laughs. "I can definitely show you better than I can tell you but I wouldn't want to do that. I don't want the poor elevator workers to find us in a VERY compromising position. If you know what I mean." she says with a tilt of her head, green eyes sparkling. 

\----------------------------------------

"Is it hot in here or is it just you?"

Josie boos with two thumbs down. "Lamee, that better have not been it or I’ll be really disappointed. That was a 4/10 at best."

Penelope laughs. "That's fair but for the record, that wasn’t it. Actually though, pick up line aside, it really is getting really toasty in here.”

The shorter girl subconsciously starts undoing the top three buttons of her crisp, white button up and the upper lace of her black bra suddenly appears in the other girl’s vision. Josie's eyes widen at this and she squeaks in response, quickly diverting her eyes to the side wall of the elevator.. 

Penelope immediately drops her hands away from her shirt."Shit!! Sorry, sorry, I wasn't thinking at all. I just got super hot all of a sudden and my only thought was that I needed to get this off ASAP, I swear! Umm, do you mind if I change? I have a spare tank top in my backpack." Penelope says sheepishly. 

Josie's eyes move to the ceiling as she concentrates on stabilizing her voice. "Yeah sure, go ahead. Next time, a warning would be nice though."

"Yeah, of course. Sorry, it's a habit! If I undo one button, all the other ones usually follow right away." 

Josie closes her eyes (she tells herself it's to give Penelope privacy as she hears her unzipping her backpack and shuffling through her stuff to look for the shirt and not because she is tempted to sneak a peek) and involuntarily imagines the other girl's sentence in context.

Quick moving hands, hot touches, scraping of teeth, stifled moans and groans, an unsatisfied, growing desire. In the bathroom of a club, in the backseat of a car, in the darkness of a bedroom. ~~In an elevator, maybe.~~

Josie spends the rest of the time Penelope uses to change actively stopping her weed-meddled brain from offering to help Penelope with the rest of the buttons.

\----------------------------------------

"What's your favorite TV show??"

"Powerpuff Girls, probably." Josie shrugs obviously. 

Penelope nods in understanding for a couple seconds until she suddenly straightens herself up, eyes bright with realization. Josie turns to look at her, confused by the sudden change in Penelope's relaxed state. 

"Jojo.. Like Mojo.. Jojo.." Penelope states with a wicked grin as she slowly turns towards Josie.

Josie's eyes widen comically with protest, "Oooooh no…no…. NOO WAY PENELOPE!" she groans. 

"YEEEES!! You want me to name you after an angry monkey with a brain helmet?"

"FINE, YOU CAN CALL ME JOJO THEN!" Josie yells. 

"YEEEEES, VICTORY!" Penelope smiles triumphantly as she punches the air with her fist. 

"But only if I can call you Penny." Josie replies back, a grin slowly growing across her face.. 

A record scratch plays in Penelope's head and she frowns. "Ewww that's gross, I don't like it... It sounds like a name from a nursery rhyme! Plus, we both know I'm definitely a dime." She grins cockily and winks at the other girl. 

Josie rolls her eyes and says "Fine…or Pen." 

"Like the writing instrument?" She asks, scrunching up her nose."

"Yup, exactly." Josie responds, finding amusement in the fact that Penelope doesn't like either nickname she's chosen for her.

"Hmm, with one of my options literally being the lowest amount of currency? I'd rather take the other one."

Josie nods and agreement and they both sit in silence for a bit until Penelope turns to Josie with a twinkle in her eyes. "Can I also call you mine?"

Josie shakes her head. "I'd rather you call me by the brain monkey who gets their ass handed to them by the Powerpuff Girls weekly." she deadpans with the tiniest of smiles. 

\----------------------------------------

"Hey." Penelope lazily rolls her head to the side to face Josie. "You’re pretty."

Josie's facial expression changes to one of confusion. 

_Wait what? She isn't even exactly being subtle at this point. Is she genuinely hitting on me this time?_ Josie thinks as her heart starts to beat quicker in her chest. 

"And I’m cute. Together we’d be pretty cute." Penelope says as a lazy, lopsided smile spreads slowly across her face.

 _Oh, it’s a dumb line._ Josie thinks as she tries and fails to ignore her heart dropping slightly. She looks up and sees Penelope grinning, clearly pleased with her line. 

Josie quickly tries to form a coherent response in order to mask her disappointment. "Wow, how is it that even when you’re trying to pick someone up, you can still manage to compliment yourself in the process??"

"Ehh, call it talent." she shrugs halfheartedly. 

\----------------------------------------

"Oh fuck yes, jackpot!" Penelope yells victoriously as she pulls out a sandwich bag containing what looks like a semi-smooshed brownie from the bottom of her backpack. 

"Do you exclusively have "special goods" In sandwich bags in your backpack?" Josie asks as she wearily eyes the bag.

"Oh Jojo, you really do think the worst of me. These are regular homemade brownies that my homeboy MG baked for me. He claims that he has finally perfected his secret recipe but he honestly says that every time.” Penelope laughs shakes her head affectionately. “Do you want some?"

Josie is about to decline as her stomach grumbles loudly and Penelope giggles in response.

"Guess your stomach spoke for you! And for the record, I left my special cookies and brownies at home today." Penelope says with a large grin as she opens the bag. 

She splits the brownie down the middle and hands the other half to Josie. Josie mutters thanks before breaking off a small corner and tosses the tiny piece into her mouth. 

The intense, chocolate-y flavor attacks her tastebuds almost immediately and a munchie-induced Josie tilts her head back and lets out a loud, obscene moaning noise. 

Penelope looks down and pretends to focus on her brownie piece as she attempts to hide her flushed face. Her imagination involuntarily runs wild and she thinks she wouldn't mind hearing the noise again but under different circumstances. 

"Your friend MG might be my favorite person." And Penelope can't help but silently agree. 

\----------------------------------------

"Sooo, who was that girl that you were…. I don’t even know what you two were doing…. Umm, the other day? With the broken elevator sign?" Josie attempts as she scratches the back of her head. 

"Why, jealous?"

"What? Noo, not at all. I’m just curious."

Penelope doesn't opt for an answer, just arches her eyebrows instead. 

"She’s pretty." Josie says after a couple beats.

Penelope laughs. "So are you. Are you interested? Cause not to ruin your chances or anything, but she kindaaa has the worst possible opinion of you currently.” 

"Uhhh no, it was just an observation…. "

Penelope narrows her eyes at her. "You’re not slick at all, Saltzman. It's alright, I'll let her know you’re interested." she says a bit too sharply as her gut twists slightly. "I didn't think she was your type to be honest.”

Josie shakes her head a bit too quickly. "Oh nooo, she’s not my type."

"Oh really? And what is your type exactly?" Penelope asks curiously.

 _As of recent, flirty girls with bad pickup lines, lopsided smirks, and eyes like sparkling, green emeralds_ , Josie's brain screams out.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Josie teases.

"I would Jojo, thats why I asked." Penelope smiles sweetly and Josie rolls her eyes in response.

"Her name is Hope. She’s my roommate and best friend. We met when we were kids and have been inseparable ever since, partners in crime through everything. If you ever run into her again, don’t tell her that though. I don’t think I can handle her having actual evidence that I think that." Penelope states.

"To be honest, I wouldn’t even know if I ran into her again. All I remember is that she was pretty. I was kinda too busy trying to figure out what your evil plan was." Josie says, looking sheepish.

"So who do you live with?" Penelope says, wanting to change the topic. She didn't want Josie to think or talk about their past feud anymore.

"My twin sister, Lizzie."

"So you two must be close then?"

“Yeah, we are. We’re thick as thieves.” Josie grins.

“That’s cool. What’s she like?” Penelope asks.

"She….." Josie starts but closes her mouth shut.

"I-" She tries opening her mouth again but ends up shutting it closed.

Josie sighs, frustrated at her inability to express her thoughts. Penelope is very confused but intrigued by Josie's behavior. The whole time Penelope has known her, she has always known what to say or do. This is an entirely new look on her and Penelope wasn't sure that she liked seeing Josie this way.

"Ehhh, nevermind." Josie says eventually.

"Tell me, what is it?", Penelope asks softly as concern starts to take over her face.

"I don’t want to, it’s complicated and kinda depressing." Josie says hesitantly while she frowns.

"Try me, please. But you really don't have to if you don't want to." Penelope insists.

Josie sighs. "I love my sister a lot, I really do. I would do anything for her and she's my best friend in the whole world. But growing up, especially as her twin, I was always kind of living in her shadow. I was always known as the quieter Saltzman. Everyone prefers to talk to her or befriend her or even date her over me. Life isn't that great when you're always second choice. Growing up, people would always come up to me and tell me how amazing she was or things I needed to change about myself if I wanted to be more popular or more well liked or more date-able, like Lizzie." 

Josie’s stormy eyes cast downwards and the elevator turns silent, with Penelope wondering about what to do next. She's never seen Josie this way. She's seen happy Josie, frustrated Josie, worried Josie, and even a very angry Josie. This is the first time she's seen a sad Josie and it creates a pit deep in her stomach. She decides then and there that this is by far her least favorite Josie. 

The atmosphere shifts from a lighthearted one to that of a heavy weight, silence filling the elevator with an uncomfortable feeling of growing sadness.

"Hey Jojo?" Penelope says cautiously. 

"Yeah?" she looks up at Penelope with questioning eyes.

"There’s only one thing I’d like to change about you, and that’s your last name." Penelope says softly with a lopsided smile on her face.

Penelope thinks that the line is way too cheesy and wouldn’t dare say it to anybody else but the beaming smile she receives in return makes it worth any type of credibility she might have lost.

\----------------------------------------

"Sooo, you still think that your Friday night off was bad?" Penelope turns to look at Josie. 

"Ehh, I’ve had worse. You?"

"Well, I checked off two of the three things on my ideal Friday night list so I’m pretty happy." Penelope smiles widely.

"That's good." Josie nods slowly. until it clicks that the one thing she's referring to missing is the tequila.

"Wait, no, no, you definitely haven’t seduced me. I'm not a stranger that you've managed to seduce for the night." Josie denies. 

_Lies_ , her brain screams.

"YET, Saltzman. The night is still young, just you wait. I still haven’t had the chance to use my ultimate move yet." Penelope smirks.

Josie rolls her eyes in response but Penelope can see her fighting to keep smile off her face. 

\----------------------------------------

The two girls have both moved so that they are laying down on the floor parallel to one another, heads going in opposite directions and looking up at the ceiling littered with small dots. Josie would have never imagined that she would be spending her Friday night laying on the floor of an elevator, trying to find constellations on the ceiling with Penelope Park.

"That totally looks like a…"

Penelope drops her voice down to a whisper "penis." She adds with a giggle.

"What are you Park, twelve?" 

"Yeah, out of ten!"

Josie sighs. "Should have seen that one coming from a mile away."

\----------------------------------------

"This is actually kinda fun. Thank you very much for the free drugs!" Josie drawls with her eyes closed and a large smile plastered across her face.

Yeah?" Penelope grins back in return.

"Has anyone ever told you that…" Josie pokes Penelope's cheek with her finger, "you kinda look like a turtle when you smile." she whispers.

"Uhhhh, nope! Yeah, noo, I don't think so." Penelope lies. 

(Sometimes, when Penelope asks MG to send her cute photos they've taken together, he photoshops her face as Crush from Finding Nemo instead. Also, once in a while, Hope will print out pictures of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and tape them to random surfaces around their apartment and draw an arrow pointing to each one, writing PENELOPE (insert horrible sounding, random middle name) PARK on each one.) 

"It's cute. I like turtles. I had a lot of them growing up. They're my friends."

"Am I your friend?" Penelope asks, clearly amused at Josie’s antics.

"Yeahh, I guess so." Josie eventually decides after a while of silence. "Only cause you're like a turtle though. A nice turtle who gives me free drugs!" She quickly adds. 

"Thanks, I guess? I'll take it." Penelope laughs and nods slowly as her heart soars from getting an actual verbal confirmation that Josie Saltzman thinks of her as more than a rival. 

\----------------------------------------

"How wild it is that famous people’s pets don’t know their owners are famous?? Like you could be one of Taylor Swift's cats and be like running away from her when people would pay hundreds of dollars to meet her for just a couple seconds…"

"Yeah, you could probably think damn this girl sucks, she forgot to feed me this morning when there are people who actually worship the ground she walks on."

"Exactly! Why are we just getting to know each other now?? I feel like we're on the same wavelength. You just get me, you know?"

“Yeah, I get exactly what you mean.”

\----------------------------------------

"Do you think we’ll go back to being neme-nemenemesis-sises after the drugs wear off? STOP LAUGHING AT ME JOSIE, that word is really hard!! How would you even say that in a plural form? Nemeni?? Nemenemesises?"

\----------------------------------------

Towards the end of their time together, Penelope starts going on a super long, rambling rant about how it should be law that all shorts, pants, skirts, and dresses should have functional pockets. All the meanwhile, Josie stays silent, nodding here and there, just content in hearing Penelope's voice. She also manages to use her color pencils to lazily sketch an animated turtle wearing a top hat and a cape who is making a speech in front of a podium and under a large banner that reads PENELOPE TURTLE PARK FOR PRESIDENT!! 

\----------------------------------------

"Do you have a pencil?"

"Maybe? I'm not sure. I usually carry pens around with-" Josie says as she sluggishly moves to open her backpack. 

"Cause I want to erase your past and write our future."

Josie abruptly stops her movements, clearly chewing on Penelope's last words. "Wow, that one was actually pretty good cause it's actually relevant to us. I'm impressed Park, 8/10."

Josie laughs heartily as Penelope herself feels her heart warm up at the word "us".

\----------------------------------------

Josie eventually gets Penelope to get up with her so that they can stretch out their limbs after laying down and sitting on the floor for such an extended amount of time. 

"Do you believe in fate?" Penelope suddenly blurts out of the blue as she stares at the other girl stretching out her right arm. 

Confusion covers Josie's face from the other girl's sudden outburst but she shrugs and answers anyways. "I mean, we've never ran into each other at all before and nowadays, it feels like my week is incomplete without seeing you."

Penelope’s heart stutters for a couple seconds at that before returning to a somewhat normal rhythm. "You know, I'm not really sure about fate but I do think the universe sends signs when it wants something to happen."

"So what do you think the universe is saying about us then?" Penelope says with a raised brow.

"I'm not sure yet, I'll let you know when I figure it out." Josie decides after a while. “And what about you? What’s your stance on fate?"

"I think… that every person that comes into your life is there for a reason. Whether it be a person you share smiles with on your morning commute so that your Monday morning sucks a little less, your mortal enemy, your ride-or-die best friend, the person who blows your heart into smithereens, your one summer love, a random quick fuck, or the person you find happiness with for the rest of your life, the universe made you two cross paths for a reason. Whether it's to teach you how to do something or to find out more about yourself or to make you happy, even if it's only for a short while, there's always a reason for everything."

Josie lets out a bitter laugh and puts on a small, sad smile. "If that's true, then the universe must hate me."

"What do you mean?" Penelope frowns, surprised at Josie's sullen outburst. 

"People always tend to disappoint me." she replies quietly as she looks down at the floor, attempting to not make eye contact with the shorter girl. Penelope carefully and slowly approaches Josie and is about to ask her elaborate when the elevator forcefully moves and shifts back to life.

This time, however, Penelope is the one caught off guard and stumbles forward. Like on instinct, Josie grabs Penelope by the waist and pulls her in tight in an attempt to keep her from falling. Big, brown eyes lock onto green ones and Josie suddenly feels like she’s in some type of trance. She can’t get herself to move and is stuck in this moment, feeling Penelope’s breath softly against her face and hoping that the other girl can’t feel her heart threatening to burst out of her chest.

Suddenly, it feels like there isn’t even close to enough room in the cramped elevator to breathe and Penelope gently pushes down on Josie’s arms and quickly puts a significant amount of space in between them in an attempt to make Josie more comfortable. 

If Penelope wasn’t so concentrated on staring at the wall and evening out her breathing, she maybe would have caught the flash of disappointment on Josie's face.

Penelope mumbles a thanks to Josie for catching her this time around as Josie looks somewhere else and poorly attempts to cool down. She hopes that if she were to suddenly look at her, Penelope will pass off the redness dusted on her cheeks to the heat in the elevator instead of her body’s reaction to the previous proximity of the other girl.

A loud ringing pierces through the air and the two girls simultaneously snap their eyes up to the elevator panel. Josie then switches her gaze to Penelope and is met with a frown and small shrug of the shoulders. The taller girl sighs as she silently curses/thanks the elevator worker for the distraction and walks over to the buttons. She then hits the blinking phone button and starts talking to the operator on the line about their current situation. 

Penelope tunes out Josie's conversation with the speaker, choosing to focus on picking up her backpack and checking she has all her belongings and that all of the pockets are zipped closed. The next thing she knows, Josie is snapping her fingers in front of her face. 

"Hello? Earth to Pen?" Josie questions with furrowed brows and a frown.

"Hmm? Sorry, what's up?"

"I said you live on the 18th floor, right?"

"Oh! Uhh yeah." Penelope answers.

"Cool." Josie bobs her head as she presses the number eighteen along with the number twenty and the elevator starts creaking its way up the building. 

The girls wait in an awkward silence as the elevator rises, both very unsure of what to say or do.

Eventually, they arrive on the eighteenth floor and the elevator dings loudly as the doors rapidly open. Penelope hesitates for a little, fiddling with her backpack straps before saying, "Okayy, well I guess I’ll see you around?"

Josie gives her a closed mouth smile and nods slowly, as Penelope silently hopes for something more than that. 

After a while though, nothing seems to happen and Penelope walks out of the elevator doors slowly, the hope that Josie will say something, anything to her shrinking with every step she takes.. 

"Wait!" Josie suddenly yells and rapidly jams the elevator open button door.

Penelope lets out an unnoticeable sigh of relief and turns around, a small smile settling onto her face. 

"Soooooo, my friend Maya is throwing a birthday party here at the Legacy next Saturday night in apartment 420." 

Penelope’s eyes light up and she lets out a tiny snort when she hears the apartment number. 

“I knew you would like that!" Josie smiles proudly. "Anyways, uhhh, anyways, do you maybe...want to come?" Josie mumbles, eyes glued to the tips of her shoelaces on her sneakers. 

Penelope is a bit surprised by the invite but also extremely pleased with the results, if the growing grin threatening to split her face is anything to go by.

"Uhhh yeah, sure, sounds great. I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it for the world." She says in a weak attempt at nonchalance and ends up giving Josie a double thumbs up with her hands still wrapped around her backpack straps. 

"Okayy! Yeah. Cool cool cool." Josie nods vigorously.

Silence stretches between the pair for what feels like an eternity but is actually more around 5 seconds.

 _Shit, shit this is awkward. Are we suppose to hug or…? What are you even suppose to do after you spend hours stuck in an elevator with your rival turned friend? Wait, are we even actually friends or is it the drugs tricking us? SOS send help!!_ Josie thinks as she stands awkwardly with her arms and legs crossed, staring at the wall on the right of her as she nervously chews her bottom lip.

Penelope’s eyes quickly flicker down to Josie’s lips as she blames the drugs for making her hyperaware of her extremely dry lips, sticking out her tongue and slightly wetting her own in response. 

_Wait, what do we do now? Where is your game Park?? Where is this panic coming from exactly? Quit staring, it’s creepy. Oh shit, I should probably say something. Or do something. Fuck it, I’m gonna go in for a hug. I wonder what it feels like to be wrapped up in Josie Saltzman’s arms._ Penelope thinks to herself. 

Almost instantly, Hope’s voice can be heard in her head cackling loudly and screaming _“THAT’S SUPER LAME AND SUPER FUCKING GAY PENELOPE!! WE BEEN KNEW YOU'RE A USELESS BISEXUAL!!”._

Penelope shakes her head of Hope Mikaelson and starts to make the first step towards Josie when the loud warning buzz of the elevator door brings both of them back to reality.

Awkward smiles and small chuckles are shared with one another until Josie blurts out and waves, “Well that’s me, see you later Pen!”. 

Josie immediately mentally facepalms as she thinks _Well, that was pretty stupid. Of course she knows it was you!! Good work, Saltzman!!_

The elevator doors slowly start to close as Penelope grins and quickly lets out a "See ya for another 420 event, Josimothy!" 

Josie rolls her eyes endearingly in response and the last thing she sees before the doors finally close is twinkling green eyes and a two fingered forehead salute. Penelope waits for the elevator to move up about a floor before jumping in the air while simultaneously doing a victorious fist pump and grinning way larger than she has in a very long time. 

And as the elevator rumbles back to life again, Josie closes her eyes and leans back against the wall as a smile slowly makes its way onto her face and something that feels suspiciously close to hope begins to bloom in her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, it looks like they're on the way to figuring it out! I hope nothing bad happens and they do end up meeting at the party together with no problems or obstacles whatsoever! :) hehe see y'all next time!
> 
> P.S. Can someone please tell me who is the older Saltzman twin is??
> 
> P.P.S. Here is the Office scene if you’re curious! The specific line starts around the 0:55 mark.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns91qkOBUPU
> 
> P.P.P.S. I hope that y’all have a nice time taking a break from school/work or just life in general! Sending good vibes and best wishes to you, regardless if you’re spending it with family (even if that means sneaking away to AO3 to avoid quality time with them lol) or friends or loved ones or even alone!
> 
> Hope the upcoming year will be generous to all of us! Also, prayer circle for the return of our favorite HBIC witch!!
> 
> #bringbackpenelopepark2020 (but only if they don’t butcher her character / learn to write a more cohesive season!!)
> 
> Chapter title from She's Got You High by Mumm-Ra
> 
> As always, let me know what you think in the comments below! 
> 
> Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru


	5. and i'm so furious at you for making me feel this way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA when lizzie gets help (twice), stoners go on an adventure, josie wants to feel better like.... right now, and penelope is trying her best!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all, I'm back! I'm so shook that this has reached 200 kudos so thank you, thank you, thank you!! To show my gratitude, here's another chapter a bit earlier than usual. Here we go! :)

**THAT SAME NIGHT**

The first time Lizzie Saltzman meets Hope Mikaelson, she's alone in the university library having a straight-up miserable time. Seriously though, who schedules a midterm at the beginning of the fourth week of the semester?? 

The music she should currently be listening to should be blasting out of a high-powered bass system, not through her wireless headphones.  
While everyone is out having fun at the wild parties on Greek row or going about the usual debauchery college students get up to, she's stuck here surrounded by hundreds of bookshelves, reading about the War of 1812. 

(Fine, if she were to tell the truth, it would be more of quick, dramatic flipping of textbook pages while only looking at the colorful pictures and less reading of words.)

Who cares about these kinds of things really? A bunch of old, white men died because they were being selfish, how is that relevant to her now? 

(Okay to be honest, she’s not really sure why the war happened but that’s how most wars start so it wouldn’t be a far-reaching assumption; she’s been missing classes since it’s an 8 am with optional attendance so naturally, cramming for this exam starts when the weekend before it does.)

She's contemplating dropping the class for the umpteeth time that night when a flash of red catches her eye. She looks up from her textbook and the first thing she notices is soft, red hair. Lizzie doesn’t know if it’s because the only other humans she’s seen within the past couple hours are old, pasty men in powdered wigs but the first thought that enters her mind when she fully takes in the sight of her is _that girl is absolutely gorgeous_.

With one of her hands still on her backpack strap, she hand motions towards the chair pushed in at the adjacent table across from her with her other hand, silently asking for permission to sit. 

Usually, Lizzie would be genuinely irritated at someone for this; there's literally thousands of other seats in the library, why do they have to sit near her? But Lizzie is too tired to object and she will admit, it does get lonely at the deserted library on Friday night. 

Plus, it doesn't hurt to have something ~~beautiful~~ to look at from time to time that doesn't involve hundreds? (Again, she's not really sure; she should definitely start studying soon) of bloody deaths. 

The girl looks like a considerate enough deskmate so Lizzie nods her approval and the girl smiles back a silent thanks. Lizzie lowers her deafening music to a minimal volume and reads the same line of text over and over, pretending to look concentrated and busy but being the exact opposite of that, excited at the prospect of a new distraction. 

From her periphery, she sees the other girl take out her laptop, unwind her charger and plug it into the free outlet, and subsequently put her earphones in. Lizzie feels her mood drop slightly, disappointed that the distraction was only temporary, and she goes back to "reading" her textbook. 

She almost makes it an entire chapter of what she would call the most bone-dry text in the world (taking breaks here and there, letting her eyes wander to where they might ~~mostly towards a girl who Lizzie found out purses her lips and squints her eyes adorably when deeply lost in thought~~ ) before her stomach lets out a vicious growl. 

She quietly groans and frowns in shame as her eyes snap up from her book to look at the stranger, wondering if she heard it at all. It seems that she is spared the embarrassment by the way the stranger continuously types on her keyboard, not paying any attention to the blonde. 

Lizzie exhales in relief and attempts to pick up where she left off in her reading for a couple minutes before her stomach starts again, this time, way louder and noticeable than before. 

The stranger briefly lifts her eyes up from her screen and actually looks at her this time, eyes shining with amusement and a small grin on her face before returning back to her assignment, typing away at her keyboard. 

Not wanting to embarrass herself any further in front of the cute stranger with her obnoxious tummy noises, she fishes her wallet out of her backpack and starts to make the long trek to the vending machines. Unfortunately for Lizzie, as soon as she arrives at them, she is met with a powered-down snack machine and a large OUT OF ORDER sign. 

"Fuck-my-life." she says as she dramatically bangs her forehead softly against the glass. 

She drags her hungry and tired self back across the library and when she returns to her study room, the first thing she notices is that the stranger has vacated the area, like she was never even there to begin with.

"Nice going Lizzie, you scared her away with your loud stomach grumbling noises." she frowns as she mumbles to herself and approaches the table. 

When Lizzie sits down in her seat again, she raises her eyebrows in curiosity as she quickly notices three things on her still open textbook: 

1) a sandwich wrapped tightly in Saran wrap

2) an unopened bag of one of her favorite chips 

3) a note written on a hastily torn, corner piece of paper with small, scrawled words on it. 

A small smile begins to grow on Lizzie's face as she begins to read the short note:

_Sounds like you need it more than I do. I hope you like ham! And good luck on your midterm, HIS 109 is the worst class ever lol -your friendly desk neighbor_

And as Lizzie starts to unwrap the sandwich, she sends up a silent wish that she'll be able to meet her food savior sooner rather than later. 

\----------------------------------------

Her wish comes true about five days later on one of the very rare days that in rains in Los Angeles. 

Lizzie runs down the street towards the Legacy building, yelling "Wait for me!" as she sees someone opening the door to the building. She thinks that they might not have heard her until the person halts their movements towards the building and instead pulls the door wider, clearly waiting for Lizzie to run through the doorway. 

Lizzie almost instantly regrets it as soon as she realizes how badly she misjudged the distance from where she actually was to the door and starts to run faster, her feet pounding against the pavement, sending water from puddles on the concrete in all directions. 

She sprints by the stranger, who now has a fully drenched-through shirt, and finally makes it through the doorway and into the lobby. 

Lizzie quickly turns around and looks up guiltily at the Good Samaritan, surprised to find herself face-to-face with the cute stranger from the library. Even though she slightly resembles a drowned puppy, she still might easily be one of the prettiest things Lizzie has ever seen.

"Ohhhhh shit! I'm so sorry, I made you dripping wet!" Lizzie says as she frantically tries to brush away the loose raindrops on the stranger's shirt. Her eyes widen at the implication of her words and when she looks up, she is met with raised eyebrows and wide, amused eyes. 

"I mean, uhhhh, that's not what I meant. I was just trying to apologize for making you soaked!" Lizzie blurts out. 

A small smile grows on the strangers face, clearly amused with Lizzie's innuendos. 

"Soaked with like rain. And nothing else. Yuppp!" Lizzie says, nodding quickly with a closed-mouth smile. 

The stranger laughs loudly and says "It's not a problem at all. I was already doomed the moment I left home without an umbrella or jacket." 

"Ahh, well thanks for holding the door open for me anyways. It's nice to know chivalry isn't completely dead." 

"Of course. After you, my lady." The stranger gracefully says as she playfully bows and extends her arm out, emphasizing the clear path towards the elevator. 

Lizzie can't not smile at the cheesiness of it all and they make their way towards the elevator together. Once they both make it there, Lizzie quickly presses the up button, wanting to do something for the stranger for once. 

"You know, that's the second time you've helped me out. Do I get to know my hero's name?" she teases as she turns her head towards the other girl. 

The other girl chuckles and says "Hope." while extending her right arm forward. 

"Lizzie." she says while putting her hand into hers, shaking a couple times before squeezing and letting go. 

The elevator dings open and both girls make their way inside. "Floor?" Hope asks and Lizzie replies with "Twenty….please."

Hope nods and presses buttons 18 and 20, which leads to the elevator roaring to life. Lizzie half expects the rest of the ride to go by in silence until Hope suddenly breaks the silence. "Sooo, how did your HIS 109 midterm end up going? Honestly, one of the worst classes I've ever taken." she claims as she stares up at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact. 

Lizzie is caught by surprise that Hope still remembers why she was in the library the last time she saw her. It's such an insignificant detail but it makes Lizzie smile nonetheless. 

"It was pretty rough but I think I did good enough though. Hopefully." She says as she puts up both hands with her fingers crossed. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure you did well. You seemed really focused and concentrated before I showed up." Hope jokes. 

"Heyy, it's not my fault I was a little bit hungry!!" 

"A little bit?" Hope laughs. 

"Fine, a lot a bit. I never thanked you for the sandwich, by the way." Lizzie says, gratitude made apparent by her tone of voice. 

"No problem. Anything for a pretty girl." Hope grins. 

Lizzie blushes in response as she notices the elevator rapidly approaching Hope's floor. She makes a quick decision before she turns to the other girl and says, "As a thank you, I'm inviting you to this party my friend is throwing this Saturday night. I think that maybe you should come. Only if you want to. I'm pretty sure you do though." she shrugs. 

Hope cocks her head and smiles as she turns to the other girl asks "Hmm, is that so?" The elevator suddenly stops and the doors slide open to the eighteenth floor. 

"Yeah, it is so! So it's here at Legacy, in apartment 420. Maybe I'll see you there?"

Hope saunters out of the elevator, only stopping to turn back and give Lizzie a once-over while saying, "Maybe, I'll think about it." 

The elevator doors close soon after, leaving behind a grinning Lizzie Saltzman, who was currently glancing up at the ceiling and sending up a thanks to whichever higher power made her wish come true.

\----------------------------------------

 **THAT SATURDAY MORNING** _(AKA HOURS BEFORE THE PARTY)_

"COME ON PEEZ, PLEASEEEE?" MG begs on his knees with large, brown puppy dog eyes. 

"Yeah Peez, pleaseee?" Hope joins in, her hands clasped together with eyes mimicking MG's and a large pout that covers a decent portion of her face. 

Penelope sighs audibly. "For the hundredth time, no, we are not going to the ostrich farm."

The Terrible Two (as Penelope has currently coined them in her head) throw their heads back and groan loudly in unison. 

"But I'm going through my midlife crisis right now. Life is so short and I'm so old now and I'm gonna die soon!" MG dramatically says as he puts his forearm on his head and flops onto the ground. "You know…. my favorite-"

"Yes, we know, one of your favorite childhood moments was on your seventh birthday when an ostrich came up to you like you were the chosen one and you got to feed it." Penelope says monotonously as she cuts MG off. 

"ONE OF? Penelope, it is THE favorite childhood moment. There was nothing like it!" MG exclaims as she shoots up off the ground and throws both arms up in the air. 

"I wouldn't know what it's like, Penelope never wants to go with or take me, no matter how many times I ask her." Hope crosses her arms while pouting, reminding Penelope of a small, sassy child throwing a tantrum. 

"Remind me why I volunteered to watch over you two after y'all took edibles without me?"

"Because we are your bestest friends in the whole world!!" "Because you love us so so much!" MG and Hope yell out at the same time with matching grins. 

Penelope laughs in response and shakes her head. "That's cute and all but no, I'm still not taking you two. It's far and it's gonna take forever to go there and get back."

"Ooooh I see what's going on, Penelope's scared she's gonna miss her date with Josie tonight!" Hope teases as she waggles her eyebrows and Penelope glares at her in response. 

"That's so cute Peez!!" MG exclaims excitedly. "I totally forgot, is that tonight?" 

Penelope looks up to the ceiling and blushes slightly while pretending to knit her eyebrows together in thought. "Hmm, yeah? I think it's tonight, I'm not really sure. What day is it today anyways? And it totally isn't a date!"

"And now we all know who the Oscar ISN'T going to!" Hope says in a deep, overly dramatic announcer voice. 

MG bursts into giggles and Penelope frowns in response.

"You haven't gone a single day this entire week without talking about her. Don't start pretending like you haven't been looking forward to this party now!"

"Shut up Mikaelson, it wasn't every day, stop exaggerating! Also, I'm not THAT excited to see her again. I don't really mind if we miss out on that party." Penelope shrugs as she feigns nonchalance. 

"Oh yeah? Then prove it! Take us to the farm!!" Hope exclaims excitedly. 

Penelope rolls her eyes in response. "No way. Anyways, let's not pretend like you didn't get asked out to the party too!"

"Wait you got asked to go too?" MG questions enthusiastically. Penelope thinks that if MG were a dog, his tail would be wagging furiously right now. 

"It's not that big of a deal 'cause I didn't get asked out, it was like an obligatory thank you invite." Hope shrugs. I basically just helped her out a couple times. There's no way a girl like her would be interested in me." she says sadly. 

"Don't ever say that about yourself Hope, ever!! You are the bee's knees Hope. You hear me?? THE. BEE'S. KNEES." MG says as he puts his hands on Hope's shoulders and shakes them hard with the last three words for emphasis as Hope breaks out into a large grin in response. 

"Anyone would be lucky to be with you either of you two. Me on the other hand, will probably die alone. And most likely soon because I'm SO OLD!! MG yells as he runs both his hands down his face slowly and Penelope groans in response. 

"Look at my hideous wrinkles, Peez! LOOK. AT. THEM." MG exclaims as he motions towards the non-existent wrinkles on his face with both hands. 

"Oh my God, stop being so dramatic MG! If I take you to the stupid ostrich farm, will you two stop with this old/dying nonsense and teasing about Josie??" Penelope asks desperately.

"YES!!" they both scream at the same time. 

Penelope sighs in defeat as she gets up from the ground. "Fine, let me go find my keys."

The two jump up and down with glee as they start to whoop loudly and give large rounds of applause to the other girl. 

"You won't regret this, it'll be great!" Hope yells happily down the hallway after Penelope. 

\----------------------------------------

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

For what seems like the thousandth time that night, Josie looks towards the front door of the crowded apartment and is met with utter disappointment. 

She hears Lizzie sidle up next to her and let out a loud sigh. "Still on the lookout for her?" Lizzie yells over the pounding music. 

"No, just seeing if any other of our friends are going to show up." Josie yells back. 

"All of our friends are here already. That's a lie and you know it."

Josie deflates at that, knowing that Lizzie is 100% correct and decides to deflect back instead of dwelling on the sad truth. "What about the girl you invited?"

Lizzie shrugs and says, "She didn't really give me a definitive answer. Honestly, I probably scared her off." Josie scans her face briefly and sees poorly masked disappointment under the colorful party lights. 

Josie nods in understanding and the two stand there together, Josie silently scanning the crowd for familiar green eyes and Lizzie searching for a flash of red hair. 

"Look, we don't need those two. We're here to have fun and celebrate Maya's birthday." Lizzie eventually yells as she shoves one of two red cups that Josie definitely did not notice she was holding before.

"You're right, at least we have each other." Josie says as she plasters a fake smile onto her face, knowing Lizzie wouldn't leave her alone until she seemed happy enough.

"Of course, I'm always right. Cheers!" Lizzie shouts loudly as she lifts up her cup. 

"Cheers!" Josie reciprocates as she clinks her cup against Lizzie's. She lifts the cup to her lips and takes a huge gulp of the contents in the cup, wincing at the burning sensation that flows smoothly down her throat and spreads warmth down to the rest of her belly. 

For the remainder of the party, Josie guzzles down shot after shot, drink after drink, determined to erase thoughts of a certain raven-haired girl and broken promises out of her mind. 

\----------------------------------------

**SOMEWHERE A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES AWAY**

It's official, Penelope Park was going to kill one Hope Mikaelson and one Milton Greasley. She can't believe that all the events that occurred today had led to her in the emergency room, listening to MG's soft snoring and his pulsometer beeping instead of getting drunk and potentially dancing the night away with one Josie Saltzman. 

As Penelope silently mourns the thought of what her Saturday night could have been, the sound of Hope's approaching voice brings her back to reality.

"Sorry Penelope, I know how much you were looking forward to tonight, no matter how much you insist that you weren't." Hope says softly while approaching her cautiously. 

Penelope looks at her and sighs, her heart softening at the truly apologetic look on her roommate's face. She knows it's a lost cause to try and stay angry; it's impossible for her to stay upset at her best friends for a long time. "It's okay, at least no one died or got hurt."

Hope's eyes quickly shift to MG and Penelope's eyes follow soon after. "Okay fine, seriously hurt!"

Hope responds with the smallest of smiles and the two silently sit there together, the constant beeping of the machine filling the air. 

"Look, I'm sure she won't be that upset. Things happen, right?" Hope questions after a couple minutes later. 

Penelope silently fiddles with the hem of her shirt, nervous about Josie's reaction to her absence. She doesn't know what would be worse; Josie being genuinely upset or Josie not noticing at all that she didn't show up. 

"Yeah, maybe." she shrugs. "I guess I'm just kinda sad cause I was a bit excited about tonight." Penelope admits quietly as she looks towards the ground. 

Penelope turns to look at the other girl and is met with an extremely sympathetic expression on Hope's face. 

Hope thoughtfully suggests, "Maybe you should try texting her about what happened?"

Penelope shakes her head and replies with a simple "Can't." 

"Whaaat? Why not? Did you not get her number or something?" Hope asks incredulously. 

Penelope frowns and looks away, opting in staying silent. 

"Oof, Peez, where the hell is your game?" Hope asks as she shakes her head in disbelief. 

"Look, I was a bit preoccupied at the time!"  
Penelope defends. 

"Mhmm, sureee. With what exactly? Hope questions doubtfully. 

_With how soft and kissable her lips looked._ instantly pops into her head.

But Penelope knows she can't say that without relentless teasing from the other girl. So, she blurts out the first thing she can think of that her and Josie talked about when they were trapped in the elevator together. 

"Uhhh, with why Mickey Mouse doesn’t wear a shirt like more than half the time but wears pants and shoes? And how Donald Duck is the opposite of that? Like he usually wears that button up shirt but no pants?" She replies as quickly as she can. 

"What??" Hope asks with a huge frown and an extremely confused look on her face. 

"Don’t look at me THAT weirdly! Really dude, think about it!! Goofy wears both a vest and pants so it must be a thing to wear clothing like humans!" Penelope insists. 

"See kids, this is why we don’t do drugs!" Hope announces aloud to room, even though the only other person besides them two is literally unconscious. 

"Shut it Mikaelson, you’re REALLLLY not the one to talk right now!" Penelope yells back and Hope just laughs loudly in response.

\----------------------------------------

Josie spends almost the entire Sunday nursing a really nasty hangover, only emerging out of her room around noon to get something to put into her stomach. 

As she enters the kitchen area, she is met with an all-too cheerful Lizzie, greeting her with an overly-enthusiastic "Good morning sunshine!!"

Josie just grunts in response and reaches out for the mug of hot coffee Lizzie presents to her. She takes a sip and feels the nausea and haze lift from her a tiny bit. However, that small boost still doesn't stop her from dropping her head onto the cool kitchen counter, hitting the surface with a small thud and a loud groan. 

Lizzie shakes her head and chuckles in response. "I would ask how you're doing but I feel like I know the answer already. You look like you got run over by a freight train at least 3 times."

Josie only replies with a rough grunt and a weakly raised middle finger in the face of her twin. 

Lizzie gasps in fake disapproval and swats the offending body part away. "Anyways, being the amazing sister we both know I am, I was just about to leave the apartment and was going to ask if you wanted me to get you something while I was out."

Josie shakes her head in response, still glued to the kitchen counter due to her lack of energy. "No thank you, I'll probably just order some pizza. Where are you going?" she mumbles at minimal volume. 

"Ehhh, just going to a bottomless mimosa brunch with some of the girls." 

"Oh God, please don't bring up drinking ever again to me until further notice." Josie pleads. 

Lizzie chuckles as she swipes her keys from the ceramic bowl next to the front door. She exclaims, "Okay then, suit yourself. Have fun with whatever! And hot tip, you should probably work on not looking like complete shit." before closing the front door shut and scurrying down the hallway. 

Josie slowly finishes her coffee and eventually crawls her way back into the safety of her own bed. She then chugs multiple glasses of water and takes a brief afternoon nap so that when Lizzie finds her on the couch binge watching the Office with a large supreme pizza around early evening, she at least looks semi-alive. 

"Looks like a little R&R did you some good, little sis." Lizzie says as she kicks off her shoes and throws her jacket on the back of the couch.

"Yeah, who knew that was all I needed to feel better about a hangover?" Josie replies sassily.

Lizzie grabs a slice and throws herself onto the other couch, mirroring Josie's reclined position. Josie throws Lizzie a spare blanket and Lizzie manages a thanks through a large mouthful of cheese. 

They sit in silence for the rest of the episode but Lizzie decides to break it once the UP NEXT IN…. screen pops up and the countdown starts for the next episode. 

"Sooo, are you ready to talk about the reason you are currently needing to eat your weight in pizza to soak up all the alcohol you drank last night?" Lizzie asks as she focuses her attention on getting another slice, not wanting to spook Josie.

From her peripherals, Lizzie can see Josie halt her hand's movements from wiping crumbs off her face. "Because I drank too much?" Josie tries dumbly. 

"You know what I mean, Josie."

She doesn't say anything more for a while and Lizzie doesn't push her; she knows her sister well enough to know how difficult she can be about processing her feelings. 

The next episode begins and they get through the entire cold open before she finally says something. As the opening notes of the theme song begins to play, Lizzie looks at Josie very briefly, giving her the opportunity to say something if she wants to.

Josie simply shrugs and softly says, "Honestly, she seemed like bad news to begin with. I don't know why I put myself in a position to be disappointed in the first place." 

Josie's mouth forms into a tight line as she looks down and gently pushes the picked-off olives around on her plate as Lizzie watches her carefully. 

To Lizzie, the olives are a physical reminder of how kind her sister really is; Lizzie loves olives but Josie can't stand them. She could have ordered a supreme pizza without olives but she kept them on the off chance that Lizzie would have a slice. 

Her heart ached for her sister; she was hoping Penelope would be different and not disappointing. Someone who would be worth Josie's time, or someone who came mighty close to it (in Lizzie's honest opinion, no one in the world deserved Josie's affections. She was too selfless and felt too much for her own good.) 

In all her life, she can count on both hands the number of times she didn’t have to beg Josie to actually go through with going out. So imagine Lizzie’s surprise when early last evening, Josie awkwardly shuffled into her room and asked her if she can help her pick an outfit. 

"Hey, it's not your fault she didn't show up. Don't blame yourself for putting yourself out there and having a bit of hope since…"

"Can we stop now? I don't want to talk about this anymore." Josie frowns as she quickly sits up and sharply turns towards Lizzie, successfully cutting her off. 

"Yeah, of course Jo." Lizzie nods slowly. 

"Thanks." Josie says softly, so soft that Lizzie has to strain her ears to hear over the background noise of the TV. She slowly reclines back onto the couch, face relaxing into a neutral expression. 

"Just so you know, I'm free any time. To talk about anything you want. Really." Lizzie offers gently. 

"I know." Josie replies quickly. And after a couple beats, she adds a small "thank you."

"Hey, what are sisters for?" Lizzie asks as they both turn their attention back to the TV, conversation forgotten. 

\----------------------------------------

Josie was doing a pretty decent job distracting herself with mindless television, eating slice after slice of greasy pizza, and NOT thinking about a certain someone all day until Lizzie HAD to bring the topic of last night up. 

But now that the idea was in her head, she couldn't avoid it any longer. With the background noise of the TV and Lizzie's occasional laughter, Josie forced herself to think about what Lizzie had asked her. 

She had no idea why Penelope's absence from the party had gotten so deep under her skin. It was probably because she said she was going to show up and she didn't end up following through. Yup, that was probably the reason why. Because that's totally rude and showing a lack of basic manners. Being flaky is not a good character trait to have, honestly. 

Luckily for Josie, she was still very tired and recovering from her night of hard drinking from the night before so she decided not to look into the situation or her large, over-dramatic reaction more than she needed to. 

And as she quickly drifted off to sleep due to her pizza-induced food coma, Josie silently admitted to herself that she knew she didn’t really have a right to be mad at the other girl but she sure as hell was still going to be!

\----------------------------------------

The next day, Josie has some spare time to reflect on her feelings and drive herself insane with back-and-forths in her own head (most of it was during her long work hours when she truly had nothing else to do but think but whatever). 

Before the party, she actually thought Penelope Park felt somewhat the same, especially towards the end of their time together, during the conversation about fate. 

She was almost sure that she didn’t imagine the invisible spark that existed between them. Or maybe she did. Maybe her drug-infused brain misread the entire situation? 

But then again, it’s not like Penelope wasn’t interested in her right? She had been flirting with her all night! 

But then again, she had a flirtatious nature about her. But then why did it seem like some of her lines were more genuine than others? 

Unless….this was some kind of sick joke and this was a part of their little feud? 

To be honest though, what did she expect? They spent one night together, she didn’t really know her at all. 

~~(although she still really wanted to get to know her even after being ghosted by her)~~

This back-and-forth went on for a while until she realized that the more she thought about it, the more stupid she felt. She reached an ultimate conclusion that Penelope reeked of heart breaker vibes and Josie had decided right there and then that she would not be her latest victim (no matter how hard her heart seemed to betray her and skip a little bit faster when she saw small reminders throughout her day, such as the right shade of green or a stray flower growing on the sidewalk).

\----------------------------------------

On Wednesday afternoon, Josie leaves for work early with a craving for sugar, hoping to get a scoop of mint chip ice-cream from their local ice cream shop before her long shift. 

The elevator doors open up to the lobby and Josie Saltzman is suddenly face-to-face with the one and only Penelope Park. 

_Of FUCKING course, like clockwork, it's time for our weekly meeting._ Josie thinks.

Penelope's eyes are comically wide and strongly resemble large dinner plates as her brain finally processes who's standing in front of her. "Jojo!" she exclaims happily with an also shocked tone. 

"Don't call me that." she replies angrily as she storms past Penelope, hitting her shoulder on the way out. 

"Fuck." She hears Penelope sharply whisper and quick footsteps follow shortly after. 

"Wait, wait up! Why are you in such a hurry?" Penelope breathes out quickly. 

Josie stops dead in her tracks and turns sharply, pointing at the logo printed on the upper right hand corner of her polo work shirt. "Why do you think?" she deadpans before turning around again, hastily making her way to the front door. 

"Wait, I'M SORRY, OKAY?" Penelope yells out and Josie stops to a stand-still.

"I'm sorry." She repeats again, softer this time as she stops behind Josie, finally caught up to her.

Josie audibly sighs and tiredly says "I have to go to work Penelope." Which technically, was true but she had ice-cream-getting time to spare (what Penelope didn't know wouldn't hurt her).

"Please, just let me explain." Penelope pleads. 

Upon hearing the desperation in her voice, Josie quickly turns around and says, "Fine. You have 90 seconds starting now."

Penelope is genuinely surprised that Josie gives in that easily; she definitely expected to do a lot more begging and it doesn't fail to show on her face. "Oh wow, putting me on the spot right away, I didn't expect that at all. Uhhh, I haven't really rehearsed what I want to say to be honest." she says a couple seconds later as she scratches the back of her head. 

"80 seconds." Josie says with an unamused look on her face. 

"Oh shit, okay okay. So basically, my dumbass roommate and MG, you remember MG right? The guy who made the amazing brownies that I accidentally smashed and we shared on the elevator? Well, he made another batch with this really strong weed and he and my roommate took them. Cause when I woke up they were like sky high and being obnoxiously loud. Anyways, being the good person I am, I volunteered to supervise them and then MG basically had an existential crisis and kept asking to go to his childhood ostrich farm and then they double teamed me and kept annoying me and I finally caved and we went to the ostrich farm, which is about 2 hours one way. When we got there, the ostriches were kinda angry I guess and spit on him and then he started hella crying because he said they and I quote "sensed the old man vibes coming off of him." So I tried to convince them to let me drive us back but he refused until we stopped by his childhood house, which was close by to the farm. So we got there and we climbed his tree house and hung out there for a bit until he calmed down. He eventually did and when we were about to get in the car to leave, I guess my roomie was a bit nostalgic as well because she saw a cat that she swore was her childhood cat Sprinkles from 15 years ago that ran away from home and tried to rescue it on a high tree branch. I tried to run and stop her cause it wasn't safe but she's like super fit and fast and was super determined. Anyways, totally unexpected from literally no one, it wasn't though and it ran away from her. She got really sad and also was way too scared to climb down the tree so MG went to go rescue her even though I yelled at him not to. He didn't listen and I blame all those superhero comics he reads and his need to show off he's young enough to climb a tree 'cause again, aging and allegedly mid-life crisis. Anyways, he jumped on this one branch and it snapped off and his ass hit the ground hard and his arm broke. Don't worry, he's okay now but right after it happened, he started hella crying again about how his bone broke so easily since he has osteoporosis cause of his old age - you know osteoporosis right? Bone loss and softening but usually older folks have it - Anyways, Hope then climbed down the tree easily to comfort him. Which reminds me, I have to strangle her for that later. Not literally though, more like a metaphorical one. So then, I had to drive him to the hospital and then we spent almost the whole night in the ER. I would have texted or called by you didn't give me your number or anything and I'm really sorry I didn't show up ‘cause I really wanted to hang out with you. PHEW. DONE!" Penelope says at an impossibly fast pace, barely stopping to breath. 

Josie stands there, eyes wide and slowly blinking with her mouth slightly open as she tries to process all the new information that was given to her while Penelope tries to catch her breath across from her. 

"Any questions?" Penelope says after a while of silence. 

"Do you have any physical proof that any of this happened? Josie asks, kind of weirded out and somewhat unconvinced of the other girl's explanation. 

"Uhhh…. no, actually." Penelope says sheepishly with a grimace. 

Josie holds a straight facial expression as she arches a single eyebrow and crosses her arms across her chest, waiting for an explanation. 

"Okayy, well I did! I took pictures of the ostriches cause it was actually really cute because they were so happy to see them initially. But then, there was this weird outbreak that happened at the hospital and then the CDC came and took all of our phones. But we're getting new ones later today. Maybe they saved on the cloud and I could show you? I'm honestly not sure how the cloud works and at this point I'm a little too scared to ask." Penelope mumbles on. 

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You conveniently don't have any piece of evidence that would prove that some of this did actually happen? 

Penelope stands there frowning, unable to come up with a good response and Josie takes this as a cue to continue on. 

That entire story is ridiculous Penelope, if you didn’t want to go to the party, you could have just said so instead of creating fake promises of showing up and stories that never happened." Josie spits out, her emotions getting the better of her. 

"But I-" Penelope desperately tries again. 

"You know what, I can't do this right now, I'm late for work. Goodbye Penelope Park." Josie says coldly as she sharply turns and walks away, leaving behind an utterly disappointed and extremely upset Penelope. 

_Welp, that definitely could have gone better._ Penelope thinks to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops! ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> Things were getting too cute and cozy around here! We goin' ✈ back to rival hours!! Lmao jk jk. Unless? 
> 
> Don't blame MG and/or Hope because they are my kiddos and I will not tolerate any slander!! They've never done anything wrong in their lives ever??? 
> 
> FYI: I based the CDC taking the phones from the Mummy on Main Street episode but they were a fake CDC that Triad created? So I'm not sure if that's an actual thing but shhh…, let's just pretend it is and that they destroyed everyone's phones but paid for new ones afterwards. 
> 
> Also, ostrich farms are definitely a thing and they do love to spit on people. 
> 
> Lastly, hope y'all have fun celebrating and ringing in the new year! Be safe please!! 
> 
> Chapter title from Gorgeous by Taylor Swift (shoutout to my roommate for giving me this one)
> 
> As always, let me know what you think in the comments below! 
> 
> Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru


	6. oh i've been busy working on my scheme

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA josie is still mad, penelope is sad but still a good friend, hope is hopeful, and this is lizzie saltzman's world and we are all just living in it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi!! Happy first chapter of 2020! 🎉🍻🎉🍻
> 
> Just an FYI, I'm going to try and make an effort to update at least once every 2 weeks. 
> 
> This will probably be my last chapter for a while though because my vacation is over and I'm going back to school and I have to settle in for a bit. :((
> 
> Here's a special shout-out to the Toast Cans GC (if you know, you know)!!

"Okay, but be honest, what do you really think about that story? Like an ostrich, really?? She could have come up with literally anything else!!" Josie shouts in disbelief as she spins around to continue pacing back and forth, directly in front of the living room couch Lizzie is currently lazily lounging on with a giant bowl of ice cream and a large spoon. 

"Wait, can ostriches not fly or are penguins the only one? I'm trying to imagine one taking off into the air and it's not really happening. Those things are giants!" The other girl comments as she proceeds to lick the spoon clean. 

"Lizziee!" Josie whines as she suddenly stops her movements and Lizzie uses this opportunity to shovel more ice cream into her mouth. 

"Whaat?" She asks innocently through an enormous mouthful of ice cream and Josie shoots her an annoyed look. 

"I'm sorry! But we've been talking about large birds spitting and Penelope Park and her potentially very dumbass ostrich-obsessed stoner friends since you got back from work, which was like 30 minutes ago!! I'm in need of new material, Jo." Lizzie complains with a frown, becoming immensely tired of the conversation approximately 25 minutes beforehand. 

Josie sighs, "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just, you know I hate when people lie to me. And especially when it's a bad and super obvious one!"

"I know." Lizzie nods with understanding. She observes Josie carefully and sighs, placing her bowl to the side and scooting closer to her twin to signify just how serious she is. 

"Look, I think it might be time to move on from her. Maybe to someone new? You know, officially closing the chapter of this little crush." she suggests softly with a small, encouraging smile. 

Josie lets out a huge scoff and folds her arms tightly against her chest upon hearing her sister's statement. "I do not have a crush on her!" 

Lizzie raises both eyebrows instantly at the horrible lie, the irony not lost on her, and Josie's cheeks starts to turn pink in response. 

"I just think…. that morally, she should just tell the truth about what happened!" she exclaims. 

"Uh huh. Totally. Makes sense."

"You suck, you're suppose to be on my side!" Josie pouts. 

"Woah there, you know I'm Team Saltzman all the way, always! All I've been saying is that in this past half hour is that I Googled it and there is indeed an ostrich farm 2 hours from here. And I've also seen….. kinda funny and kinda sad YouTube videos of people getting spit on by them! Doesn't mean she's telling the truth though!" Lizzie insists. 

Josie frowns largely, unconvinced by her sister's words and a noticeable crease starts to form between her eyebrows before Lizzie quickly blurts out, "From what you told me though, I'm sure the she-devil is lying!"

Josie drops her shoulders after hearing Lizzie's direct statement condemning Penelope, her words seeming to appease Josie's inner conflict; it seems all that was needed to end Lizzie's suffering was confirmation that how Josie reacted was not over-dramatic at all. To the blonde's relief, Josie seems to drop the subject quickly and changes the topic to some school assignment she's struggling with currently. 

Lizzie internally cries of happiness because she was almost sure that if she had to go another minute of hearing about that ridiculous story, her next Google searches would be towards the direction of looking up prices of a hitman. For Penelope or for herself, she wasn't sure yet.

One thing she did know for sure though: After listening to Josie drone on and on about this Penelope Park girl for almost three weeks straight, from Josie going from "you'll never guess what the insufferable elevator girl did today" to "you just have to get to know her, I think she's a bit misunderstood" to "she's a liar and a generally rude person", Lizzie has had just about enough of this girl. She was tired of the emotional whiplash that came every time the two eventually encountered. 

Lizzie has never met this Penelope Park girl and she’s not really sure she wants to.

(Only, that’s not true. Deep down, she really did want to meet the mysterious girl that seemed to be occupying her sister’s thoughts. But only so she could finally put a face to a name and be able to make her own, unbiased judgement about her. And potentially interrogate her and kick her ass for hurting her sister, regardless of how much Josie protested that she was actually hurt.) 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

For both their sakes, the next day, Lizzie set out to find a potential date for her sister; if only just to distract her from the damn Park girl for a couple moments. Just something to get the ball rolling and open the door to the dating world again. 

~~Un~~ fortunately for her, after an entire day of unsuccessful searching, Lizzie returns back home to the Legacy building, her only comfort in knowing that her new party dress had finally arrived in the mail. She lifts the large package out of the mailbox just as she hears the front door to the lobby open, her head turning slightly to identify the source of the sudden noise. 

She is met with the sight of one (still as beautiful as ever) Hope, intently scanning the room in search for something; of what, Lizzie didn't know. 

When her eyes gradually stop on the blonde, a flash of a small smile appears briefly on her face before she starts to casually stroll up to the blonde. 

Lizzie's all too aware of the sound of her own heartbeat, matching in time with the sound of quickly approaching footsteps on the shiny, tiled floor. 

"Nice to see you again, Lizzie." she says with a small head nod. 

"Yuppp, same! Well I live here so yeah!" Lizzie says with an uptick in her voice, moving both hands around vaguely. She grimaces and quickly says "Well not here here. I don't live in the lobby. That would be sad." She chuckles awkwardly.

Hope tries and fails to suppress a smile at the sight of an increasingly flustered Lizzie, finding her rambling to be a great source of (adorable) entertainment.

"Anyways, I have a home, and it's a nice one too! It's in an apartment upstairs!" Lizzie exclaims as she points upwards towards the ceiling. 

Hope chuckles, "Well, I'm very glad to hear that."

Awkward silence follows and Lizzie isn't sure what else to do except busy herself with locking her mailbox up. 

When she turns back around, she is surprised to see Hope biting her bottom lip shyly with a timid expression on her face, with her arms half-folded around herself while staring at the ground. 

"Hey, I'm sorry that I didn't show up to that party last weekend. An…… unexpected situation happened and I had to leave town for a bit. I really wanted to go though! To the party, I mean." Hope says softly. 

Hope swallows and looks up into Lizzie's blue eyes, reminding her of deep, swirling whirlpools under the excessively bright lobby lights. 

"I definitely would show up though if you were to invite me to something else. I'd like to get to know you better, if that's okay with you." Hope smiles bashfully and Lizzie can't help but mimic it back to her.

"I-" Lizzie starts. 

_I DON'T FUCK WITH YOUUUU!! YOU LIL' STUPID ASS BITCH I AIN'T FUCKING WITH YOUUUU YOU LIL' DUMBASS BITCH_ cuts through the air, stopping Lizzie mid-sentence. 

"I'm so sorry, hold that thought." Hope apologetically smiles as she yanks her phone from her back pocket, picking up the call. 

"What is it??" Hope aggressively whispers into the phone as she turns around and hunches over. 

"Oh. Right. My bad. Yeah, the coast is clear. Bye!" she says sheepishly and quickly hangs up the phone. 

She turns back around as Lizzie sports an amused expression on her face. "Sooo, where were we again?" Hope innocently asks. 

Lizzie slowly responds with "I was just saying that -".

All of a sudden, the front door to the lobby slams opens and a very annoyed-looking girl comes stomping into the lobby, her sights focused solely on Hope.

Lizzie looks back to Hope in confusion and sees Hope shutting her eyes tightly with fists clenched, reminding Lizzie of a child attempting to test their magical abilities by turning themselves invisible. 

"What the hell Mikaelson, I was standing outside for like a minute! Longest minute of my fuckingg life!! What took you so long to- Oh." she abruptly stops as her eyes fall upon the blonde in the room. 

"Hi, I'm Lizzie!" Lizzie puts on a polite smile as she balances the package with one hand and lifts the other in greeting. 

The other girl's eyes widen in surprise as she exclaims, "OHHH MY GOD. MAKES SO MUCH SENSE NOW!" 

She makes a dramatic show of forming an "o" shape with her mouth while slapping her hand against her forehead and Hope sends her a warning look, saying something along the lines of _choose your next words carefully or else_.

The stranger blatantly ignores Hope as she puts on a large toothy grin and her eyes start to sparkle with mischief. She turns to directly face Lizzie and says "I've heard SOOOO MUCH about you. It's so nice to put a face to a name. A face that I heard -"

"HOLY SHIT, SHE'S COMING!" Hope suddenly shrieks and the other girl jumps to life, running over to the nearest couch and vaulting over it, tripping and landing onto the hard floor with a loud THUD. 

After a couple seconds, Lizzie shoots Hope an extremely confused look and she lets out a large, boisterous laugh in response that echoes throughout the room and spreads to adjacent hallways. 

The other girl's head comically pops up from behind the couch and she frantically looks around for a bit before getting up and shooting daggers at Hope, who is now currently wiping away stray tears in her eyes. 

"I really fucking hate you sometimes, you know that?" she says as she brushes herself of non-existent dust and walks towards the elevator. 

"Feeling is mutal, roomie." Hope says smugly, loud enough to reach the girl's retreating figure and the other girl throws her the finger in response. Lizzie can't stop the laughter that comes from watching the comedic pair. 

"Here, let me help you." Hope offers softly as she takes the package and Lizzie shoots a grateful smile and a mumbled "thank you" in return as they walk towards the elevator together. 

"Sooo, you have a really spiteful ex or something?" Lizzie asks innocently, unable to resist the pull of juicy gossip and Hope instantly bursts out into laughter. 

"Yeah, something like that." Hope grins. 

The stranger whacks Hope's shoulder with one hand and presses the elevator button with the other. "No, she's not an ex." she sighs out. 

Lizzie arches an eyebrow curiously, waiting for a more elaborate answer from the girl. 

"It's…….. complicated." She says hesitantly after a while and shrugs lazily. Lizzie decides she doesn't know the other girl well enough to press about the issue and leaves the topic alone. 

The elevator doors slide open and the girls all step in together. 

"What floor?" The stranger asks tersely as she presses the number eighteen and the button lights up. 

"It's twenty right?" Hope asks and Lizzie finds herself impressed again with the insignificant details Hope seems to remember about her. 

"Uhhh, no, it's eighteen too actually." Lizzie blurts out spontaneously, surprising both girls with the outburst. She's also surprised by her own actions until she quickly realizes her brain was just listening to her heart, wanting to be in Hope's presence for just a little bit longer. 

The two girls just stare at her, waiting patiently for a follow-up until she mumbles, "Uhhh, my friend just got a new kitten and I said I would help out a bit. Cause animals love me. A lot. Yuppp! That's why." Lizzie nods while baring her teeth awkwardly.

Silence fills the air until the stranger shrugs out with an uninterested "Ehh, whatever!"

The elevator doors ding close and Hope turns to abruptly look at the dark-haired girl, who is currently checking out the back of her arms for bruises. "Peez, you can't keep living like this. I can't keep checking if she's here or not for you." She shakes her head slowly. 

_Peas?? What a strange nickname._ Lizzie thinks to herself as the elevator moves to life. 

"Okay, and what do you suggest I do? I don't want her to get any more angry and it really doesn't seem like she's open to listen to me apologize anymore." The stranger slumps her shoulders and grovels in what seems to be self-pity. 

"Honestly, I feel really bad about it. Maybe if you showed up at her door and serenaded her with an acoustic guitar like in those cheesy Rom-Com movies, she might forgive you!"

 _God Hope is so cute. I really hope (lmao that was a lame pun) she likes me too._ Lizzie thinks and smiles silently. 

"Just point to me the apartment and I'll honestly do it." the stranger lets out defeatedly. 

"If you really want, I’ll knock on every door on her floor and find her. Just say the word." Hope insists. 

_She's so nice and such a good friend. +10 points in my book!_ Lizzie mentally notes.

"Don’t worry about it Mikaelson, fate always manages to have me cross paths with one pissed off Josie Saltzman." she sighs out. 

_WAIT WHAT?? JOSIE???? HOLY SHIT!!_ Lizzie's head screams as her eyes practically bulge out of their sockets. 

"I'm just kind of surprised she didn't believe the ostriches part? Why wouldn't MG and I want to see them??" Hope pouts adorably with her arms crossed. 

_OH MY GOD, I'M POTENTIALLY FALLING IN LOVE WITH A GIRL THAT MIGHT BE ONE OF PENELOPE'S DUMB-ASS OSTRICH-OBSESSED STONER FRIENDS!!_ Lizzie's brain yells out as everything starts to click into place in her head. 

"Maybe cause they're really gross and weird looking? I guess like attracts like though." Potentially Penelope shrugs, laughing loudly with a large grin and Hope sends her a glare in response. 

Lizzie non-discreetly turns to REALLY look at the dark-haired girl. Cute clothing style. Raven-hair. Super cool nose piercing. Hypnotizing green eyes. Obnoxious but somewhat endearing grin. The effortless teasing. The very pretty roommate. 

How could she have missed this before?? 

The elevator doors ding open and the three shuffle out of the elevator and onto the eighteenth floor. 

They continue to walk together in silence, with Lizzie contemplating her next moves until Penelope and Hope stop in front of their apartment, which is only a couple doors down from the elevator. 

"Wait, I never got your name." Lizzie motions to Penelope as Hope puts down the package to pull her keys out from her bag. 

"Oh shit, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Penelope Park." She states with confidence and grace as she offers a handshake, never breaking eye contact with Lizzie. 

_Well that just fucking confirmed it. I'm finally face-to-face with THE Penelope Park. The one I've heard about notoriously for DAYS. Time to ruffle her feathers a little bit!_ Lizzie thinks. 

"Elizabeth Saltzman. Pleasure." She says with a simple smile as she takes the other girl's hand and firmly shakes it. 

Penelope and Hope freeze simultaneously as they look to each other in panic and Lizzie thinks for a second that they might actually shit bricks. 

"I'm totally kidding." She laughs, loud and sudden. "You just said something about a pissed off Josie Saltzman and I couldn't help myself. Sorry!" Lizzie shrugs and the two girls visibly relax and let out awkward laughter in response. Hope unlocks their apartment in one swift motion and the front door swings open shortly after. 

"Anyways, I think that you two are a veryyy hilariously, entertaining duo. I'm throwing a game night tomorrow at my place and you two would be an....... _interesting_ addition to our little squad. The more the merrier, I always say!" Lizzie smiles, a little too widely. 

Hope beams out a smile that strongly rivals Lizzie's in response and Penelope stands there with an arched brow and arms crossed, not looking entirely convinced. 

"Will there be-"

"Yes, there will be alcohol of course. It's a Friday night and we're college students. Don't be ridiculous!" Lizzie cuts Penelope off with a raise of her hand.

Penelope seems to contemplate for a bit until she shrugs nonchalantly with an "Ehh, why not? A nice, calm night in might be a nice change of pace."

Lizzie internally chuckles at this, knowing her sister and recognizing how wrong that statement is going to be.

"Yeeeees! We'll totally be there!" Hope exclaims excitedly. 

"Do you think we could exchange numbers? So I could get the 411 about the hang later?" She adds as she hands her phone over to Lizzie. 

Penelope internally cringes and grimaces over the 411 line while mumbling something that sounds suspiciously close to "okay boomer" under her breath.

Lizzie nods in agreement and enters her contact as **Lizzie loves HAM sandwiches ❤❤💞💞** and gives the phone back. 

(Unbeknownst to Lizzie, Hope's heart rate increases basically ten-fold seeing her initials on the screen after the words Lizzie loves.) 

"Great, thanks! I'll text you so you can get my number too. Oh shoot, almost forgot, here you go!" she says quickly as she hands over the package to Lizzie. 

"Thank you so much, I really appreciate it." Lizzie grins. 

The two girls stand there in silence while staring at one another, sharing large grins and blushing slightly while Penelope stands in the background with her arms crossed, eyes flickering quickly between them. 

"Ewww, this eye-fucking is getting too gross for me. I'm out, bye." she frowns as she moves to enter the apartment. 

"Penelope!" Hope yelps in embarrassment. "I'll text you later, bye! Thanks for the invite!" Hope says rapidly as she practically runs into the apartment, moving to quickly shut the door. 

"Way to be subtle Mikaelson, I could see your heart eyes from space." Lizzie hears Penelope tease before the door shuts closed. 

"Shut up, at least I got her number! That's how you're suppose to do it, just in case you were wondering how to get the number of the girl you like!" Hope yells loudly enough for Lizzie to hear through the closed door. 

"Eat a dick, Mikaelson!" Penelope retorts back and Lizzie can hear Hope's bubbly laughter echo loudly in response. 

Lizzie shakes her head as she walks down the hallway, silently chuckling as she embraces the package and the slow warmth that comes with Hope admitting she has a crush on her. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

When Hope knocks on the apartment door of her rapidly developing crush the next night, she REALLY does not expect the object of her roommate’s moping to be the one to open the door. 

"Uhhhhh………" Hope lets out as she briefly leans back to re-check the apartment number sign. Yup, right apartment. "Is Lizzie here?" Hope asks awkwardly to an equally confused Josie. 

"Uhhhh yeah, just hold on one second. LIZZIE!!!" Josie screams out into the apartment and walks away soon after. 

The blonde emerges suddenly, looking absolutely stunning in a sparkly, silver dress and Hope's brain goes empty in seconds.

Hope oogles at her for a bit, jaw dropped as Lizzie knowingly smirks back at her. "W-wow, you look incredible Lizzie." She manages to let out as soon as she remembers that she owns a fully functioning mouth. 

"Thanks, you look cute too!" Lizzie exclaims before suddenly frowning. "Wait where's Penelope?" she questions as she leans out into the halfway and looks both ways. 

"Uhhh, yeah, about that. She couldn't make it." Hope says sheepishly as she scratches the back of her head. She suddenly remembers who she had just encountered and blurts out "But what the actual fuck?? Was that Josie who just opened the door? You know her?"

"Ohhh yeah, my bad. Quick side-note, I was sorta joking about joking yesterday. I am indeed Lizzie Saltzman and Josie is my twin sister. Surprise!" She says as she puts on a foolish grin and throws her arms in the air for dramatic effect. 

Hope's jaw drops in shock as she tries to process the new information and the blonde takes this time to take a couple steps into the hallway, reach behind herself, and close the door to her apartment. 

"Look, yesterday while we were in the elevator, I realized who Penelope was and I decided to take matters into my own hands. I love her, I really do, but I'm so sick and tired of hearing Josie rant about Penelope. If I have to hear her talk about those damn green eyes over dinner one more damn time, I swear on my life I'm going to stick a fork in my eye." 

Hope chuckles in response and Lizzie continues on, "I'm not gonna lie, I initially had my doubts about her. But from what she said/how she acted yesterday, I think she's genuinely sorry about what happened and it's just a huge misunderstanding. Based on what I saw yesterday, you want to help Penelope too right?"

Hope nods vigorously and Lizzie starts up her little speech again. 

"I know Josie can be stubborn and isn't open to listening sometimes, especially when it comes to feelings. I just feel like if we got them in the same room, something is bound to happen. They can't avoid each other forever!" she exclaims. 

"I totally agree with you, but one _tiny_ problem." Hope says in high-pitched voice as she makes a tiny space in between her thumb and pointer finger.

Lizzie arches a single eyebrow, waiting for Hope to share the details of the said problem. 

"Penelope's on a date right now." Hope says sheepishly with a grimace. Lizzie silently stares her down with narrowed eyes until Hope starts to nervously ramble, "Okay! So MG and his friend Alyssa were supposed to go on a double date with this girl and her sister. But Alyssa literally cancelled last minute and so MG volunteered Penelope to go instead! Something about her being the ultimate wing-woman or something."

"What?? How could you let that happen!!" Lizzie cries out in disbelief. 

"What!! How was I suppose to know? No one told me the plan!!" Hope defends as she crosses her arms. 

"Okay, fine, fine, that's fair. Can you get her here before the night ends though? So we can mark Operation Trick Posie into Making Up as a success? Are you with me or not?" Lizzie asks as she puts her right hand forward. 

"What the fuck is a Posie?" Hope asks quickly, confusion written across her face.

"It's Penelope and Josie's names together, keep up!" she sighs. "Just go with it Mikaelson!!" Lizzie whines. 

"Oh okay then. Yeah, I'm totally in." Hope purses her lips as she nods in a dramatic fashion and puts her hand on top of Lizzie's. 

"Great choice! Team, break!!" Lizzie yells enthusiastically as both girls throw their hands up, just as Josie suddenly pulls the door open. 

"Uhhhh, what's going on here?" Josie questions suspiciously, crossing her arms against her chest and leaning against the door frame.

Lizzie and Hope both look at each other with wide, panicked eyes until Lizzie sputters, "U-uh, we were just discussing charades strategy. We're super serious about tonight's competition, you know?" 

Josie knits her eyebrows together, unconvinced at Lizzie's poor excuse and looks at Hope with mild interest. Hope just stands there, looking like a deer trapped in headlights until Lizzie gently nudges her and she starts to nod a little bit too enthusiastically. "Yup, totally that! Y'all are going down! To the ground!" she yells awkwardly as she uses both hands to point towards the ground. 

Josie narrows her eyes suspiciously at Hope. "Have we met before? You seem familiar." 

"Uhhh, I don't think so? Probably not, but who can be sure? We go to a huge university, you know? Lots of faces on lots of people. I just have one of those faces, I guess?" Hope finishes with an obviously forced smile. 

Josie stares at Hope for a couple of seconds, clearly puzzled by the girl's rambling. "Riiiiight, I'll see you two inside. We're about to start soon." Josie eventually says as she shakes her head and goes back inside. 

"What the fuck was that? You're the worst actor I've ever seen! We're gonna get murdered in charades!!" Lizzie hisses out before walking back into the apartment. 

"Wait, you were being serious about the charades thing? Y'all actually take game night seriously??" Hope desperately yells out after Lizzie's retreating figure. 

"Shit, well, here goes nothing, I guess." Hope mumbles to herself as she walks inside and closes the door shut behind her, officially marking the beginning of game night and Operation Trick Posie into Making Up.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

**How’s it going on the double date y’all?**

Hope shoots the text to the groupchat labelled **WE ALL LOVE HOPE MIKAELSON (no we don't) SHUT UP YES WE DO** just before she approaches the large group of chattering friends in the living room.

“Attention please!! This is my newest victim to our beloved game night. Everybody meet Hope.” Lizzie announces loudly as she directions everyone to look Hope’s way.

“Ummmm….. Hi, everyone.” Hope waves awkwardly, not really comfortable with everyone staring at her curiously in silence.

“This is Landon, Maya, Jed, Ethan, Kym, and….. you kinda met Josie earlier right? She opened the door for you.” Lizzie says as she points to each person.

“Uhhh, yes, very briefly. It’s nice to meet all of you.” Hope nods with a polite smile.

A brief chorus of enthusiastic heys and hellos is let out, accompanied by a couple head nods following thereafter.

“My brother Kaleb usually shows up to these nights, but he had to write a history paper. Big dummy, I hope he’s suffering in the library right now. Serves him right for waiting like three weeks.” Kym chuckles as she shakes her head affectionately. 

“Yeah, thanks for stepping in for him. Odd numbers are the worst for these kind of things.” Ethan smiles warmly.

“Wow, way to call all the single people out! _Soooorry_ that we can’t all be a part of an adorable couple.” Landon shouts in mock anger as he motions towards Ethan and Jed’s comfortably, cuddled figures sharing a cushioned seat.

“So new girl, want to be the Han to my Solo?” Landon cheekily grins and the entire group groans loudly.

(Josie is suddenly struck with a strange sense of familiarity but pushes it down quickly.)

“Ewww, not even on your pathetic life, nerd boy. She’s already accounted for. Mine.” Lizzie states as she puts a possessive arm around Hope.

Hope shrugs and smiles apologetically at Landon, but is internally screaming at the fact that Lizzie currently has her arm around her and had called her hers. 

“Okay, that’s fair. Guess I’ll just die alone, then.” Landon frowns and nods in defeat. 

“And with that, who’s up for some rounds of never have I ever? I’ll start pouring.” Jed says enthusiastically as he untangles himself from his boyfriend. Everyone cheers in agreement and gets up to relocate to the kitchen as Hope takes this opportunity to check her phone.

 **SUPERMAN IN THE MAKING 💪 :** it’s honestly going pretty well if I do say so myself 🤗 🙌 💯

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** EASY FOR YOU TO SAY, YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO BE HERE RIGHT NOW!! 😪

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** HOPE SOS SAVE ME, I KNOW I CAN BE DIFFICULT SOMETIMES BUT YOU WOULDN’T LET ME SUFFER A HORRIBLE DEATH RIGHT? RIGHT?? 💀👻 

**SUPERMAN IN THE MAKING 💪:** omg you’re so dramatic peez

 **SUPERMAN IN THE MAKING 💪:** hope she’s fine don’t worry about it 

**FALALALA LEAVE ME ALONE 😤 :** Hmm, I’m not too sure about that. Well, would you rather be at gamenight helping me woo Lizzie? 😊😊

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** ofc you would need help with her. what would you two do without me? 😜😜 

**SUPERMAN IN THE MAKING 💪:** petition to change the groupchat name to WE LOVE PENELOPE PARK? 😘

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** NOT NOW, YOU’RE ON THIN ICE BUDDY!! I’VE BEEN FORCED TO LISTEN TO THIS GIRL TALK ABOUT HER TONSIL SURGERY FOR LIKE TEN MINUTES NOW!!🤢🤢😷😷

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** YEAH I'M DONE. HONESTLY, YES HOPE, WE LOVE A GAME NIGHT. COME TAKE ME AWAY. LIKE THIS VERY SECOND.

Hope is busy hatching up an escape plan to save her friend when she receives a couple new messages.

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** Wait, now hold on a sec. 

**WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** Things just got interesting. She has a tongue piercing. 👀👀👀 

“How’s Operation” Lizzie pops up and looks around dramatically “T-P-I-M-U going?” she whispers loudly.

“It’s a work in progress.” Hope sighs as she shows her phone screen to Lizzie.

Lizzie groans. “A tongue piercing is what's keeping her from coming here?? Maybe she doesn’t deserve Josie after all.”

Hope is about to defend her best friend’s honor until she is cut off by a - 

“HEY ARE YOU TWO COMING OR WHAT?” Maya yells from the kitchen.

“Yeah, we’re coming!” Lizzie yells back as Hope pushes her phone into her back jeans pocket and is whisked away towards the kitchen by an excited blonde. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

“Dumbass MG. Again! For the second weekend in a row!” Penelope exclaims as she pounds back another tequila shot by the bar. This is the third time tonight she has excused herself to go to the bathroom and has instead snuck away to the bar in the other room. 

She’s scanning the restaurant’s patrons and wondering whether or not she should just start a tab when she quickly does a double take of a table by the entrance. A pretty, tall girl with what seems like a familiar face laughs loudly and flirtatiously puts her hand on her date’s bicep and a frown instantly forms on Penelope’s face. 

It’s then that she realizes that the girl is not one Josie Saltzman, but some random girl on a date. She shakes her head sadly, recognizing the fact that this is the tenth time that has happened in the past twenty four hours.

No matter where she goes, she sees Josie’s face everywhere. It's like she can’t seem to help it. 

She groans in frustration because It really doesn’t help Penelope’s current, rotten mood when she’s reminded that Josie currently hates her (again). 

It’s strange really, because it’s not like Penelope felt a need to be liked by everyone. She just really wanted to be liked by Josie. 

The raven-haired girl hits the home button on her phone and sighs deeply upon seeing her notification-less phone screen light up. She then silently grumbles as she moves to flag down the bartender for another round of shots.

And for about the hundredth time that night, she wondered what Josie was doing at this exact second.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

“Never have I ever not watched the Star Wars trilogy on May Fourth.” Landon states proudly. Everyone groans in response and prepares themselves to take a shot. 

“That’s not fair, everyone is getting super lit except you because you can’t keep your nerdiness in your pants!!” Josie complains loudly.

“Seriously though. Technically, there are May Fourths that you haven’t watched it. There was a time when you was a baby and shit!” Jed slurs in desperation, not wanting to take any more shots.

“Yeah, you can’t tell me that you came out of the womb already wanting to be a Jedi and stuff.” Ethan yells supportively, backing his boyfriend up.

“Fine then. Never have I ever not cosplayed as Doctor Who to Comic Con.” Landon says after a couple seconds.

"What the fuck is Doctor Who?" Maya frowns. 

"How do you not know that?? If you don't know what it is, just take the shot!" Landon exclaims in disbelief. 

Everyone mumbles in acceptance this time, proceeding to throw back their shots except Lizzie.

“Hmmm, interesting. Care to share, Lizzie?” Hope teases with a playful grin.

“Nope. Not saying anything. Landon is the only nerd here.” Lizzie shakes her head, feigning innocence.

Everyone bursts into booming laughter at that. “Lizzie loves to play it cool but we all know she’s secretly the biggest nerd here.” Landon teases as he side-hugs her affectionately.

“I AM NOT!” Lizzie interjects, her face quickly turning red. She spins to look at Josie for support, who just shrugs and grins sheepishly, knowing the truth and that the battle is already lost.

“Mhmm. Remember the time we got every question right on the Lord of the Rings category in pub Jeopardy?” Maya says, in a matter-of-factly tone.

“O-oh! Or the time that the new Star Trek came out and you begged all of us for like a week to go with you since Landon was out of town?” Kym teases.

Lizzie pouts and crosses her arms in response, unable to deny any of the claims. Hope thinks she looks absolutely adorable.

“Forreals though, you’re the only one that gets Landon’s lame references.” Jed laughs drunkenly, laying his head on Ethan's shoulders.

“OMG, or remember the time……” Ethan starts off. 

Hope doesn’t hear the rest of the sentence as she slowly walks away from the group, checking her phone.

**FOUR MISSED CALLS FROM WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢??**

Hope grimaces as she scrolls through her new messages. 

**WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** EWWW, FUCK, NEVERMIND, IT’S LITERALLY INFECTED!! 😩😱

 _Welp, that was sent literally one minute after the last one._ Hope mentally notes.

She opens the text window of messages that are personally sent to her and not the groupchat.

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** BITCH THE RESCUE PLAN IS BACK ON!!!!! 

**WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** WHY ARE YOU NOT PICKING UP YOUR PHONE??

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** HOPE ANDREA MIKAELSON PICK UP THE FUCKING PHONE RIGHT NOW!!

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** ?????? HELLO???????????????????? 

**WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** okay, i’m sorry i yelled at you. plz pick up the phone

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** i’m changing the locks when i get home. I h8 u so much! 😘

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** *😡 damnit, wrong emoji. but the point still stands!!

 _Well shit._ Hope thinks as she winces and goes to tap on Penelope’s contact. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Penelope sighs in relief as her phone finally vibrates and lights up with Hope’s angry scowl filling the screen. “Excuse me, I have to take this. It’s really important.” she apologizes quickly as she practically sprints towards the hallway near the bathrooms.

She hits the green answer button and yells, "4 CALLS AND 8 TEXTS LATER, HOPE ANDREA MIKAELSON!! THIS BETTER BE FUCKING GOOD!" into the phone. 

A waiter passes by with a large grimace stretching across his face, mumbling "Yikes, RIP Hope. Your girl is piiiiiiissed." 

"I know, I know, I'm really sorry!!" Hope apologizes quickly, sincerity seeping into her voice. 

“Jesus, what took you so long? I’ve been trying to reach you all night!” Penelope exclaims.

“I’m so sorry P, I got a little distracted. We’re playing Never Have I Ever right now.” Hope says sheepishly.

“I’m missing Never Have I Ever?? You suck, you know how good I am at that game!!” she shouts.

“By good, do you mean you’re the only one who gets super plastered by the end?” Hope asks in an amused tone.

“Oh my God, you have no idea how good that sounds right now.” Penelope practically moans into the phone.

“Eww, keep it in your pants, Park!”

Loud noises come into the background, which sound like Lizzie and another voice arguing about if Han shot first.

“Who is that yelling with your girlfriend right now?” Penelope questions. 

“OMG, she’s not my girlfriend. And he’s one of Lizzie’s friends. His name is Landon and he’s super nerdy. He reminds me so much of MG, I’d actually think they’d hit it off well. Comic book references, mentioning he’s sad and lonely every ten minutes, super nice, lame but in an endearing way…..” Hope starts to list off their compatible traits.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” she hears MG approach from behind her.

“Nuh uh, no way buddy. I am not going back in there, I’ve had enough.” Penelope says as she spins around and excessively shakes her head.

“I _100%_ agree with you. My date couldn’t find her napkin and used the tablecloth instead. Now it's covered in barbecue sauce. Really not classy.” MG frowns and scrunches up his nose. “Who you talking to?” he asks as he motions towards the lit phone.

“Mikaelson. She says she found your soulmate at game night.”

“Okay, well not soulmate! More like a nerd in shining armor.” Hope mumbles into the phone.

“I like the sound of that. Two nerds in a pod. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” Penelope grins.

“I guess we could check it out. Better than being here.” MG shrugs as he starts to blush, pretending to not be affected by Penelope's teasing.

"Alright, Mikaelson. We'll be there." 

“YES!! Hold on.” Hope says. Almost instantly, Penelope hears Hope’s voice in the background and Lizzie whispering things back to her in what sounds like an intense conversation taking place. 

“OOH OOH, can we stop by my place first? I have some leftover brownies and I want some feedback. I really think I perfected the recipe this time!” MG says excitedly, clapping his hands together.

Penelope sighs and is about to object when Hope beats her to the punch. “That sounds like a really good idea MG. Also, would you mind bringing a bottle of Grigio P? K, cool, sounds good. I’ll text you the apartment number. See you soon!” She says quickly and hangs up the phone.

 _Well, that was weird._ Penelope thinks to herself as she turns to address MG.

“Well, time to inform our lovely dates of our _extremely unfortunate_ emergency!” Penelope says chirpily, eager to do something else with her Friday night that was less towards horrendous double date territory and more towards getting super drunk territory. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, now that I'm really thinking back on it, that was a total disaster. We should definitely coordinate emergencies next time.” MG shakes his head as they step off the elevator and onto the twentieth floor.

“Really? You think so??” Penelope says, voice dripping with sarcasm. “We practically told them that we needed to feed my cat while the apartment was also simultaneously on fire. Why the fuck would I care if my cat ate if my apartment is currently engulfed in flames!" she yells exasperatedly. 

"Milton, please tell me why you would even think feeding a cat would constitute as an emergency.” she then sighs.

“Hey, cats are vicious creatures enough! I can’t imagine what they’re like when they’re actually hungry.” MG shrugs awkwardly, holding the container of brownies in his hand not hindered by his cast.

“You take that back, cats are amazing creatures and are just misunderstood!” Penelope demands as they stop in front of the apartment that Hope had texted them about.

“Nah, dogs all the way.” MG insists as Penelope knocks hard on the door.

“Oh my God, I’m not having this discussion again. Both pets are good in their own ways and have very different classes of behaviors.”

“Yeah, but dogs are cuter.” MG shrugs.

“To you.” Penelope retorts as she pulls out her phone and texts Hope to come get them. 

“Ehhh, to a large part of the world’s population, I’d say.” 

“Literally where is she? I’m gonna kill her.” Penelope frowns as she pounds on the door again.

“Nah, you wouldn’t do that. She’s like your sister from a different mister. And misses.” MG grins.

“Nope, mark my words Milton. I’m gonna go through with it this time.” Penelope grunts as she looks down into the paper bag she got from the corner liquor store.

All of a sudden, Penelope hears the door _finally_ open up and lets out a huge, dramatic huff.

“FINAL-FUCKING-LY. JESUS. I BROUGHT YOUR STUPID PINOT GRIGIO. YOU'RE TOTALLY WELCOME, ASSHAT.” she practically yells as she reaches into the bag and shoves the bottle forward.

However, when she looks up, she doesn’t see what she expects to see, which is a sheepish-looking Hope Mikaelson.

Nope, that’s what she sees when she shifts her eyes slightly to the left, standing in the background. 

Instead, directly in front of her, she sees one of the last things she expects to see; an extremely bewildered Josie Saltzman with her gigantic, light brown eyes quickly shifting between her and MG.

“Well, shit.” Penelope grimaces as she takes in Josie’s deer-trapped-in-headlights look.

And proceeds to get a swift door slam to the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Penelope, she can never catch a break. 😬😬
> 
> BTW, it's totally canon that Lizzie is secretly a nerd and I will fight anyone who says otherwise!
> 
> Sorry for the unfortunately low Posie content this chapter but I needed to set up for the next chapter!
> 
> But good news! 
> 
> *rubs hands together excitedly* We will be back to our regularly scheduled Posie starting next chapter cause we all know they can't stay away from each other for long!
> 
> Things will start to pick up from there so get ready!! 😊😊
> 
> WHERE ARE THE TURTLES? https://youtu.be/d0dsZgzAOEo
> 
> Chapter title from Drawing Board by George Ezra
> 
> As always, let me know what you think in the comments below! Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru


	7. so why would i try when you're not even remotely, remotely kind? pt. i

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA game night with the squad!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Renewal I guess! We’re in this ‘til the bitter end. lmaoo
> 
> THANK YOU FOR 300 KUDOS!!! :)) REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!
> 
> Not the happiest with how this chapter came out but I've had one of the worst weeks of my life and I'm super sick so it'll do I guess!

When Josie opened up the front door, she was stunned to discover an angry Penelope Park offering (well, more like forcefully shoving) her one of her favorite, go-to bottles of wine and a boy she has never met with a bright yellow, Sharpie-covered cast standing right in front of her. 

As far as she knew, Penelope didn’t know anyone in her friend group so why was she here? Also, how did she know to come here? Didn’t she yell at her the last time she encountered her? Yikesss, she was not in the mood for a confrontation right now. She just wanted to have a peaceful night in with her friends, NOT a night filled with confused feelings and flirty quips. 

Which was why she panicked and resorted to slamming the door almost immediately in their faces, backing up quickly to retreat. 

It had _EVERYTHING_ to do with how she wasn’t mentally prepared for an entire night filled with potentially heated exchanges with the other girl. 

It did NOT have to do with how Josie all-of-a-sudden realized just how messy her hair had gotten over the past hour or so or just how noticeable the beer stain on her shirt was or how she distinctly couldn't remember when’s the last time she checked or reapplied her make-up.

And it DEFINITELY didn’t have to do with how _damn good_ Penelope looked tonight in her light cream button-up shirt, sporting a black, loosely tied ribbon around her collar that complemented her excessively tight, ripped black jeans well. 

_Seriously though, how many button-ups did Penelope own??_ Josie thinks to herself.

(Not that Josie was complaining or anything since it wasn’t exactly a sight for sore eyes. Really though, it should be a crime to look _that_ good all the time. It truly was infuriating.) 

"Jo, that's no way to treat new guests!" Lizzie reprimands. 

“It’s not my fault that they scared me!” Josie replies weakly in an attempt to defend herself.

Lizzie opens the door again to the two newcomers, her warm, welcoming smile a stark contrast to the adorable pout Josie was currently modeling in the background, with arms tightly crossed against her chest in clear protest of her sister’s actions. 

"Why, thank you Lizzie." Penelope says smoothly with a small bow and shit-eating grin. 

Penelope takes a couple steps forward until she is face-to-face with a scowling Josie, currently looking at her like she's attempting to make her spontaneously combust into flames with how much hate she's putting into her stare. 

"Hello Josie. I see you still haven't changed your old habits of closing doors in my face." Penelope observes mockingly. 

"What are you doing here?? It’s like you always appear out of smoke!" Josie exclaims, clearly not pleased to see the other girl. 

Everyone in the apartment stops their chattering of side-conversations, explicitly surprised at the sound of Josie yelling at someone. All eyes quickly shift towards the confrontation, everyone intrigued by the grinning new girl standing near the kitchen, who was effortlessly riling up one of the nicest people any of them has ever met. 

"Hmm, and here I thought we were all meeting to have a friendly game night." Penelope replies cooly, rubbing her chin in pretend thought. 

Josie unfolds her arms as her hands start to ball into little fists. "Who the f-" Josie starts again, her voice slowly rising to dangerous levels. 

"Hey Jo, can I talk to you for a second?" Lizzie interrupts abruptly while not leaving any room for objections, grabbing her sister’s arm and pulling her down the hallway and into her bedroom.

"What is it?" Josie frowns, a single eyebrow raised in curiosity as her sister closes the bedroom door.

"I just thought that maybe you’d want to take a small breather. You seem a bit….on edge right now.” Lizzie says cautiously.

Josie scoffs in disagreement. “Wowww, I am totally not on edge right now! And if you knew, you’d understand! Do you even know who that girl was???” 

“Uhhh, maybe so. I _am_ the one who invited her.” Lizzie shrugs nonchalantly.

Josie’s jaw drops in shock to the confession."YOU DID WHAT? You traitor, I told you all the bad things she's done to me!" Josie hisses. 

Lizzie puts both her hands up in mock surrender to Josie's wrath. “Okay, okay. I get why you’re a little angry at me. But I was just trying to do the right thing! Look.” Lizzie grabs Josie’s arm with one hand and opens the bedroom door a crack with the other. They both peek around the edge of the door so that they both have a decent view of the kitchen and the newcomers near the designated bar area. 

“Look at his arm, Josie. See?? He broke it from falling out of the tree! Penelope’s dumb-ass ostrich friends do exist! She didn’t lie to you!” Lizzie somewhat whispers. She pulls them both back into the room and shuts the door again.

Josie mentally face palms at how she didn't put two and two together right away, not realizing that the boy at the door was the one from the ostrich story. 

(In her defense, she was a bit preoccupied in taking in the appearance of a _very_ pretty girl.) 

Josie starts to feel the guilt sink in about how wrong she treated Penelope before. 

_I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong._ echoes inside Josie’s head for a bit.

But it was strange, really. There it was, physical evidence RIGHT in front of her, clear as day and Josie still refuses to acknowledge her mistake. She is suddenly taken aback by the realization that she doesn’t instantly lunge towards her usual first instinct, which is to apologize right away. 

When it came to anybody else that wasn’t the raven-haired girl, she would _always_ apologize first, even if she wasn’t in the wrong-doing more than half the time.

In fact, she was going in the COMPLETELY opposite direction, being stubborn enough to not give Penelope the satisfaction of her apologizing and admitting she was wrong.

Why was it so hard to confront her feelings whenever it came to the raven-haired girl? Josie frowns in confusion as she quickly racks her brain for an answer.

Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t come up with one right away and decides not to dwell on it and chooses to lock that question away in a box labelled _**DO NOT OPEN. EVER.**_ and pushes said box into a dark, back corner of her mind. 

“Wait, how does Hope know Penelope?” Josie questions, not really liking the direction the current conversation was heading towards.

“Oh, they’re roommates. Isn’t that like super funny? What are the odds?” Lizzie chuckles.

Realization clicks in Josie’s brain as she remembers the atrocious acting near the “broken” elevator, giving off extremely similar vibes from Lizzie’s huddle by the door earlier tonight.

“I kinda feel like currently, we have different definitions of funny. But oh my God. Why didn’t you tell me?” Josie frowns with faked interest, not wanting to go back to the previous topic but also dreading going back to the game night. 

“Huh, I could have sworn I did.” Lizzie says with eyebrows knitted, feigning innocence as Josie narrows her eyes at Lizzie in response.

“Ughhh, fine. Because then you might not have let her come! And…. I think I could really like her Jo.” Lizzie confesses quietly.

“You really think I would have stopped her from coming if I knew she was associated with Penelope?” Josie asks, ignoring the last part of her sister’s sentence and conveniently swerving the conversation away from potential crushes. 

“I honestly don’t know. No offense, but your judgement seems to be a bit cloudy whenever it comes to her.” 

Josie frowns deeply and opens her mouth to deny her claim but Lizzie cuts her off with a dramatic groan. “Ughhhh, this conversation is getting nowhere. Stop stalling so that you don’t have to interact with our new guests or talk about your feelings!” Lizzies accuses. 

Damnit, her sister knows her too well.

“They won’t be for long!” Josie exclaims, knowing _full well_ that she doesn’t really mean it. 

“Noooo way, you are _NOT_ kicking out Hope’s friends!! Decision rejected. Vetoed." Lizzie states firmly while creating a large X by crossing her arms. 

"But-" 

"And as the older twin, I get two votes. So I win.” Lizzie grins victoriously.

Josie throws her head back and groans. “Please Lizzie, not the older twin card! You know it’s only by a couple minutes!!!”

“Come on, just give them a chance. Let them stay. Please Jo?” Lizzie begs with puppy dog eyes, hands clasped together.

Josie seems to contemplate this idea for a while until she finally caves, her sister’s large, pleading eyes finally getting to her.

“Fine, but don’t expect me to talk to her. At all.” she grumbles out as she crosses her arms.

“Okay, fine, that’s fair. But at least introduce yourself to the poor guy caught up in the middle of your lover’s feud.” Josie opens her mouth to protest the last part but Lizzie quickly puts up her hand to effectively cut her sister off.

“It’s honestly the least you could do, that cast color is hideous. It reminds me of that time when you literally couldn’t do anything without having a minion shoved in your face. Or hearing BA-NA-NA in those hideous voices. Or hearing that fucking obnoxious Happy song every ten seconds.” Lizzie sports a huge frown and shudders as she has flashbacks of darker times.

A couple beats pass before she finishes torturing herself and she starts to head towards the door, eager to return back to Hope’s side.

“Wait.”

Lizzie spins around curiously to face her twin, raising an eyebrow and waiting for an explanation to her sister’s request.

“Uhmmm, could you please help me pick out a new shirt?” Josie asks nervously, looking down to pull at the beer stain on her shirt and refusing to make eye contact with Lizzie.

Lizzie is suddenly taken back to almost a week ago, this moment strongly resembling the one where Josie had timidly asked her for help to get ready for a party. The same party where one raven-haired girl was expected to make an appearance.

She truly wonders if Josie is aware of what she’s doing or if she’s really that oblivious to her motives behind her current actions. Either way though, she’s not letting Josie off the hook that easily. 

“Why do you need my help for that? Can’t you just pick any? It’s just our friends.” Lizzie questions with a frown, feigning confusion.

Josie stays silent at that, eyes dropping down to count the number of lines on the vinyl floor planks.

“Unless…….you’re trying to impress somebody maybe?” Lizzie suggests while approaching Josie cautiously, as if not to spook a wild animal. 

Josie’s eyes widen to a humorous size until she blurts out, “Nevermind, I’ll just do it myself!!” Her face starts to burn with embarrassment at getting caught, quickly turning away from her sister and walking towards her closet, hoping to play off the flush in her cheeks from her previous alcohol consumption.

“No, no. Don’t worry about it, dear sister. Since I am the _nicest_ person ever, I’ll help you get the guy.” Lizzie smiles knowingly, deciding to turn her frustration from Josie’s denial into amusement instead.

“Guy?” Josie frowns deeply with confusion.

“Yeah, guy. Who else would I be talking about?” Lizzie questions with fake curiousity as she joins Josie in front of the closet. 

“Ohhhh, right. Guy. Sure, I guess.” Josie nods slowly, her mouth forming into a straight line.

“It’s funny, I didn’t think he was your type.” 

“Me neither. It’s just something about that shade of yellow that really gets me going, I guess.” Josie shrugs monotonously as she flips through her shirts.

Lizzie frowns and steps behind Josie at that, out of her field of vision and proceeding to dramatically choke the air and gritting her teeth while doing so. 

Why’d her twin have to be so difficult sometimes?

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m so confused, what’s going on?” MG frowns in confusion as he watches the two girls leave quickly down the hallway.

“That’s Josie.” Penelope simply says, eyes following her retreating figure ~~and not checking her out at all~~.

MG’s eyes widen comically in realization. “Ohhhhh wow, that makes so much sense! Damn, she did not look happy to see us right now.”

“Yeah, welcome to my life. I didn’t know she even knew Lizzie though. Now, where’s fucking Mikaelson?” Penelope asks sharply as she scans the apartment.

“Heyyyyy, so how are my two favorite people in the world doing?” Hope grins dopily as she clumsily throws her arms around the two, her drink sloshing over the rim and spilling slightly on the floor. 

“Oh my God, gross. You smell like a mini bar." Penelope frowns as she fake gags. 

She peers into Hope's cup and sees that it's still about 3/4ths the way filled. "I’ll take that!” Penelope exclaims as she snatches the cup from Hope’s grasp and chugs it quickly.

“HEY, that’s mine!” Hope pouts, dropping her arms from their shoulders and crossing them instead. 

Penelope winces sharply at the alcohol burning her throat, the sensation of it flowing down her esophagus and pooling down at her stomach. “AHHHHHH, much better. It’s a good start. I need more though.”

“Same. I have a feeling the rest of tonight will have similar vibes to our double date. Especially if your girl is involved.” MG mumbles. 

“Agreed. Where can I get a refill? MG and I need to catch up.” Penelope asks as she hands the empty cup back to the redhead.

Hope nods in understanding as she directs them towards the multitude of bottles and starts making mixed drinks for her and her friends; one vodka redbull for MG, one coke and whiskey for Penelope, and one vodka cranberry for herself. Hope grabs the cups while Penelope and MG both place the bottle of wine and the brownies onto the counter in front of them. MG then grabs a Capri Sun and quickly punctures it; swaying side-to-side and happily sipping from the thin, yellow straw a couple seconds later.

“Soooo, did you plan on this little encounter?” Penelope questions after placing her elbows on the counter and lacing her fingers together, gently resting her chin on them as her smile growing wider at the sight of Hope pouring a more than generous amount of whiskey into her cup. 

MG stops sipping and starts coughing violently, Penelope furiously hitting his back in comfort. “Little? That was more on the explosive side if you ask me!” he manages to get out.

Hope laughs and nods her head in agreement. “It depends, are you mad about it? Cause if so, it was Lizzie’s idea 100%!!” 

“Wow, way to throw your girlfriend under the bus. Not cool.” MG shakes his head in disapproval.

“She’s not my girlfriend! ……..yet. I’m working on it.” Hope sighs as she throws some ice in their cups.

Penelope makes a mental note to tease Hope about Lizzie later. She was on a mission to find out whether her and Josie being in the same place tonight was actually planned or a twist of fate. “Well if it was completely Lizzie’s idea, remind me to thank her. Maybe I’ll send her a nice fruit basket or something.”

“Okay, okay, you got me. I had a big part in it too!” Hope exclaims excitedly, slightly spilling the soda she was currently pouring..

“Oh, well in that case, your death is postponed until further notice. You’re welcome!” Penelope grins wickedly.

“Wait a second. My death?” Hope frowns deeply.

“Yeah, Peez was about ten seconds away from kicking the door down and strangling you when she got distracted by a pretty girl. Josie literally saved your life.” MG laughs.

“Ooh, speaking of future significant others…... Landon, come here!” Hope shouts out to the living room as a curly-haired boy snaps his head in their direction.

A handsome, curious-looking boy makes his way towards Hope and the two new strangers, one who was currently scrutinizing him as if deeming him worthy to approach them and the other looking at him like an adorable puppy who was extremely excited to meet strangers. 

“I want you to meet my friend MG. He’s into all that nerdy shit you’ve been rambling on about all night. He probably even knows who Doctor Who is!” Hope laughs out loud.

“What?? Who doesn’t know who Doctor Who is?” MG exclaims, looking extremely astonished.

“OMG THANK YOU!!! I literally dressed as the Eleventh Doctor last Halloween and they called me Bill Nye the Science Guy for weeks!” Landon cries out exasperatedly.

MG gasps dramatically and shakes his head in disbelief. “You serious? The disrespect of it all!! Bill Nye is cool and all but has he saved like entire civilizations and alien species and humankind?”

“I know right?? I agree with you 100%!” Landon grins largely.

“Landon.” he says as he sticks his hand out.

MG moves forward to return the handshake when he slips on a puddle of carelessly spilled alcohol and quickly slips into Landon’s arms.

“Woah, you okay? You should be more careful with your arm! It's okay though, I got you.” Landon says reassuringly and MG flashes a very grateful smile in return.

“I told you….. .nerd in shining armor.” Hope grins as she talks to Penelope from the side of her mouth..

“Ahh, so anyways, I had a sonic screwdriver and a cardboard TARDIS and even showed them reference pictures and they still followed me around shouting Bill! Bill! Bill! the whole night!” Landon rambles on nervously as quickly drops his hands from MG. 

“So, is it just me or did Josie seem a little mad to see me?” Penelope turns to ask Hope, getting extremely bored of the boy’s on-going conversation by the second.

Hope snorts at that. “Yeah, maybe just a little bit. I’m honestly surprised that she’s even acknowledging you at all. Lizzie told me earlier that she was a bit scared that she would give you the silent treatment instead.”

“Huh. What’s worse? An angry Josie Saltzman or a silent one?” Penelope wonders out loud to herself.

“I’m not sure. From what I understand though, it really does get to her when you ruffle her feathers a bit. Lizzie’s definitely heard an earful, that’s for sure.”

“Huh, good to know.” Penelope says as she squints her eyes and nods slowly as she processes this new information.

“Probably not as much as me though.” Hope mumbles under her breath.

“Oooh, hold on, I got pictures! Where’s my phone?” Landon yells loudly as he frantically returns back to the couch, sliding on the hardwood floor with his socks.

“Huh. This night just got a whole lot interesting in more ways than one.” Penelope says as she flashes her eyes between MG and the nerd desperately lifting up sofa cushions.

“Interesting? In a good or bad way?” MG asks distractedly, his eyes still on Landon. 

“I’ll let you know in a couple hours.” Penelope shrugs as Hope distributes the drinks out.

“And with that, cheers!” Hope exclaims as she lifts her red solo cup.

“To what exactly?” Penelope asks with an arched brow.

“To finding love in a hopeless place?” MG suggests with a grin.

“More like to me being the ultimate matchmaker, obviously! You’re welcome.” Hope grins back.

“I think you mean us.” Lizzie smiles as she suddenly appears behind Hope and rests her chin on her shoulder. 

MG and Penelope proceed to clink their cups together and drink while Hope stays put, still processing Lizzie’s usage of the word “us” and their current close proximity.

“Gee, it’s nice to see you too Lizzie!” Penelope laughs as she playfully waves.

“Nice of you to finally show up, Park! I'm kinda genuinely surprised you actually turned up here.” Lizzie says as she returns to a normal standing position.

“Why wouldn’t I show up? I told Hope I would, didn't I?”

“Like that hasn't stopped you before.” Josie spits out from behind Penelope.

Lizzie laughs internally at this, knowing full well that her sister couldn’t keep her word and stay silent, especially towards Penelope Park.

Penelope perks up and spins around at the sound of Josie’s voice, barely remembering to suppress a growing grin.

“Josie.” Penelope states with a slight bow of the head.

“Penelope.” Josie replies with narrowed eyes.

The tension in the air becomes palpable, with everyone in the room growing quiet and watching on, eyes flickering quickly between the two girls and waiting for something dramatic to happen.

“OKAY, HERE WE GO. KEEP IN MIND I HAD HORRIBLE FOOD POISONING THAT DAY SO I DON’T EXACTLY LOOK LIKE MY USUAL GQ MODEL SELF. ALSO, IF YOU SEE ANY THROW UP IN THE PICTURES, LET'S JUST PRETEND THAT IT’S NOT THERE!!” Landon yells out as he slides and skids to a stop next to MG.

“Oh, my bad. Carry on.” he grimaces and whispers in apology as he finally looks up from his phone screen and realizes that an epic showdown is going on.

“It’s nice to see you again.” Penelope says simply as she smiles the smallest-of-smiles.

“Huh, can’t say the same really. What I can say is that it _does_ seem like you know how to show up when you say that you will.” Josie retorts sassily with a frown.

“Oh my God, you’re still mad about that? It’s been like a week, get over it.” Penelope groans as she throws her head back.

MG backs away slowly and moves to take a sip of his drink when Penelope suddenly grabs his cast and pulls him towards them.

“Ow, ow. Gently Peez, please!! It’s not like one of us is crippled!” MG cries out.

Penelope ignores MG in exchange for a landing blow towards the other girl. “See anything interesting, Josie?” she sneers with narrowed eyes and a knowing smile.

A frowning Josie opts into not apologizing and chooses to stare at the bright yellow plaster instead, taking note of the Sharpie scattered across his cast. Her eyes stop on a phone number near his wrist, located right next to a “Call me for a good time xx -P.” written in beautiful, flowing cursive. 

Josie rolls her eyes hard upon seeing this. Of course Penelope has flawless penmanship. Of course Penelope would use her friend’s broken limb as a walking bulletin board for more conquests. Typical Penelope Park, why is she not surprised?

Penelope picks up Josie’s eye-rolling as complete denial still and is about to call her out on it when-

“Hii! I’m MG. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you!” He blurts out in a weak attempt to cover the growingly, awkward silence. Penelope elbows him hard in the ribs and he winces sharply in pain, quickly grabbing at his side.

“I mean…..who are you?” MG asks with a forced smile.

“I’m Lizzie!” The blonde yells out in an attempt to divert attention away from the pair of girls. (Also, for Hope’s attention for a couple of seconds but no one _really_ needs to know that.)

“And I’m Josie. We’re twins.” Penelope’s eyebrows raise dangerously close to her hairline upon hearing this breaking news. 

“Fraternal obvs.” Lizzie chuckles. 

“And this is our apartment.” Penelope's eyes widen greatly at this and she quickly turns to Hope, shooting daggers at her from feeling betrayed at not knowing this crucial information. Hope just shrugs and smiles sheepishly in response.

 _Mental note to kill Mikaelson. Again. Postponement CANCELLED!!_ Penelope thinks to herself.

“Where we are hosting a game night.” Penelope turns her attention back to Josie speaking, internally feeling bad about invading Josie’s home but not outwardly showing it.

“For _invited friends only_.” Josie lets out sharply as her burning eyes fall upon Penelope’s. 

The two begin to engage in an unofficial staring contest, all angry glares and no words.

“Oh, well I’m sorry for intruding on your space.” MG says sheepishly after a few moments of stilted silence. “Here, I brought you a little peace offering. Not a bribe for us to stay _at all_.” he adds on as he grins jokingly.

Josie’s eyes snap to MG as he opens up the Tupperware full of brownies. She breaks out into a genuine, full-on smile as her eyes light up with pure joy in recognition of the sugary treat.

~~Penelope feels a dull ache in her chest, remembering what it felt like when Josie use to smile at her like that.~~

She suddenly frowns, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Wait, are those special ones?”

“Huh? OH!! Uhhh nooo, sorry. I’m out of those. If you want, I can make you some another time.” 

“Oh no, that’s fine, I was just making sure.” Josie shakes her head. “Alright then, you can stay.” she smiles as MG turns to shoot a beaming, timid smile at Landon.

“And as for the other one, you can leave.” Josie turns, frowning largely to Penelope as she creates a shoo-ing motion with one hand, as if Penelope was a stray animal bothering her.

Penelope mirrors Josie’s frown, not exactly surprised but also not liking these new turn of events. She actually really wanted to stay. 

Hope turns to shoot a desperate look of help at Lizzie and the blonde scrambles quickly to help Penelope out, but Ethan beats her to the rescue instead.

“But game night is officially ruined without even numbers!” Ethan shouts out from the couch.

“Yeah, it’s true. With MG staying it's an odd number of people.” Kym shrugs agreeingly.

“Yeah sis, we gotta even out the teams… Come on, don’t ruin game night.” Lizzie insists.

Josie chews this over in her head while everyone proceeds to stare in anticipation; though eventually, her overwhelming need to be that people-pleaser out-weighing her large dislike of Penelope and she finally caves. 

Josie lets out a large, overly dramatic sigh. “Fine.” she huffs out as everyone cheers out in approval and Penelope flashes a small smile of relief.

“But don’t expect me to like it though.” Josie scowls as she crosses her arms and glares at the green-eyed girl.

“Alright then, well now that we got that settled, let’s play some charades!” Maya exclaims as she lifts up the bowl full of paper strips in the living room.

Everyone cheers and makes their way over to the living room, leaving Josie and Penelope staring intensely at one another in the kitchen.

“You know, I always like a good challenge.” Penelope teases as she tilts her head slightly, her eyes gleaming under the bright kitchen lights.

“That wasn’t an invitation for a challenge!” Josie snaps.

“Sure, Jan." Penelope jokes. 

"My _name_ is-" 

"I know what your name is Josie! Like I could ever forget it." Penelope mumbles as she stares at a spot at the ground.

"Then why would you say that? You trying to get a rise out of me again, like always?" Josie asks as she narrows her eyes suspiciously.

"No, it's a popular meme. Believe it or not Josie, but I'm not always thinking of ways to get you to hate me." Penelope sighs. 

_In fact, I'm trying to do the complete opposite. Not my fault that recently, you only give me the time of day when I'm annoying you._ Penelope thinks. 

"I don't believe you." Josie frowns.

"I know." Penelope says with a sad smile on her face. "Anyways, game on.” Penelope says as she starts to walk towards the others.

Josie just stands there, confused to whether or not Penelope was referring to the game night or the challenge aforementioned. 

That is, until she stops suddenly next to Josie, her head turning to whisper into her ear. “You look super hot, by the way, regardless of what you’re wearing. You didn’t have to change for me.” 

Josie’s face starts to redden at this; not really knowing whether or not it was because she got caught or if it was due to the fact that when Penelope turned to whisper in her ear, she got turned on a _tiny_ bit. Either or, she kind of hates herself for it.

“That’s totally not true! I had to change because there was a huge beer stain on it.” Josie tries weakly.

Penelope lets out a loud laugh at that, shaking her head with disbelief. “You are a horrible liar, Josie Saltzman.”

“And you are a horrible person, Penelope Park.” 

Penelope chuckles softly. “That might be so. But I totally make up for it with other things.” she says lowly as she gives Josie an extremely suggestive once-over. A large smirk covers her face as she winks and saunters away with a dramatic sway of her hips, leaving Josie alone with her imagination running wild.

Josie closes her eyes and inhales deeply. Yup, she definitely hates herself right now.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

“AND TIME!” Ethan yells as he stops the timer on his phone.

“Are you fucking kidding me, MG?? What the hell was that? We didn’t get a single point that round!” Penelope jumps up quickly from the couch, confusion etched all over her face.

“That was so easy Peez! It was swimming, see??” MG says as he makes a weird waving motion with his single, working arm. 

“Okay, maybe I was wrong. We’re not going to get murdered because somehow, they’re worse than you at charades.” Lizzie mumbles quietly to Hope as she responds with an adorable pout. 

“How was I supposed to guess that?” Penelope groans, throwing back her head in disbelief.

MG scoffs, “I’m sorry P, I was trying my hardest!”

Penelope frowns, turning to face the rest of the group. “Okay, I think that we should really consider switching games. I don’t think this game is very fair.”

Josie rolls her eyes at her. “No way. You’re just mad because you’re losing!”

“Are you being serious right now? This game is totally able-ist, he literally has a broken arm!!” Penelope exclaims as she forcefully grabs and pulls on his cast.

“Ouch!! Gently, please! Or not.” MG mumbles as Landon flashes him sympathetic eyes and a soft smile.

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with the game when you were in the lead and MG was the one guessing.” Josie grumbles with a glare.

“Well that’s because I wasn’t made aware of the inequalities that he would face once he started acting!” Penelope yells out angrily.

“Well-” Josie starts to yell back.

“Woah, woah, woah. Let’s all calm down a bit here, ladies.” Jed says sluggishly with both hands raised as he rises from his spot on the couch, swaying a bit from the effects of the alcohol.

“We are calm!” Both girls yell back simultaneously.

Jed frowns with dejection as she sinks back down onto the couch, Ethan going to rub his back in comforting circles.

“Right… We’re almost out of slips anyways so we should probably choose something else to do.” Maya says cautiously.

“Fine then. Is Taboo fine or do you have something against it too? Is your vocabulary not big enough or something?” Josie teases maliciously.

Penelope scoffs. “I’ll have you know, I read plenty. Bring it on, Saltzman.”

“No, you bring it.”

“No, _YOU_ bring it.”

Another staredown seems to take place as everyone else in the room shifts uncomfortably.

“I’m gonna get more drinks, who wants to join?” Landon asks suddenly as he stands up from the couch. 

“ME!" "I’ll go with you!” MG and Kym yell out as they both move to leave quickly.

“Alright, well I guess I’ll go get the game.” Maya coughs out.

“I’ll just take a quick nap.” Jed yawns out, snuggling into Ethan’s broad chest.

“I’ll uhhh… stay here I guess.” Ethan smiles awkwardly, staring at his cute and cuddly boyfriend with heart-eyes.

Josie and Penelope make no effort to move, both standing in front with matching crossed-arms and still-as-intense-as-ever glares.

“Mmmm, is this what we wanted?” Hope whispers, confusion apparent on her face.

“Uhhhh, well kind of? I’m not really sure anymore… At least they’re in the same room?” Lizzie offers weakly with a small lift of her shoulders.

“Right…. Well, hopefully they’ll get better as the night goes on?”

“Oh, I am very HOPEful about it, HOPE.” Lizzie chuckles.

She turns her head to see an unamused, flat-faced Hope and ends up getting a high-velocity sofa pillow to the face.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

"What we accidentally hit Hope in the face with 2 weeks ago!" Penelope yells out.

"OOO, OOH, a frying pan!" MG yells back as he jumps up and down.

"Fucking assholes…" Hope grumbles out from the couch as she rubs her nose and Penelope quickly picks up another card.

"Uhhh…. oh! Where we used to go to watch hot guys in the summertime!"

"The soccer field!" MG shouts.

“Way to objectify people.” Josie mutters under her breath as Penelope carelessly throws the card away.

"What made you piss yourself on your 14th birthday?"

MG frowns deeply. "Stupid clowns."

“Oh my God, did he really?” Lizzie whispers amusedly to Hope.

“Yeah, but to be fair, his high school friends hired them and told them to non-stop chase him. Even though he’s like, deathly afraid of them.” Hope grimaces.

“Yikes. What assholes.” Lizzie frowns and shakes her head in disapproval.

"What we blew up our freshman year when we were like...super high."

"The microwave!!" MG shouts and Penelope nods vigorously in agreement.

“Wait a sec, were you two the ones who set-” Ethan starts.

“SHHHHHH!” Maya shoots her arm out to shush him, too involved in the game to care about his affronted look in response.

"One word I would use to describe myself."

“Uh hot. Amazing. Best. Cool. Pretty.” MG continuously lists.

“Okay, all valid, but no. Keep going!” Penelope encourages as she hand motions for more.

“Wow, could she be any more cocky?” Josie frowns and Lizzie just shrugs while Hope nods in response.

Penelope points to Josie “That but like in a nicer way!”

"Oh, confident!" 

“Yes! Thanks for the help, Jojo!” Penelope winks as she retrieves another card and Josie crosses her arms tightly, looking as angry as ever.

"Ooh, ooh! My favorite vegetable."

"Pizza!" Penelope grins and nods in agreement and goes to get another word.

Everyone laughs in disbelief at pizza being the correct answer. Except Josie, of course, who is currently looking at the duo like they’re aliens from another planet and speaking in a completely foreign language.

"We hate them."

"Inequalities in society?" MG says doubtfully.

“That’s really cute.” Landon mumbles to his right as he turns to find a still asleep Jed.

"Ehhh, kind of?? Fuck the…!!" Penelope yells as she raises both middle fingers.

"Police!!" MG smiles largely as he joins to also stick out his middle fingers.

“10 SECONDS!” Maya yells out.

"What Josie looks like she wants to do to me right now!!"

MG turns his head to look at Josie, who is glaring at the raven-haired girl with such a strong intensity that can, in his ~~correct~~ opinion, be mistaken for lust. "Uhh…… kiss?"

"What, no!!” “Fuck no!” Both girls cry out.

"Fu-" MG tries again, confusion written across his face. 

"I’d rather die!!!" “Josie wishes!” 

Josie changes her look at that, her eyes lighting ablaze at just the mere suggestion of it.

"Ohhh…. kill? Beat? Punch?" MG guesses as he stares at Josie’s face.

"Time!" Maya yells out.

"YESSSS, it was kill!!” Penelope yells out as she victoriously does a dramatic fist pump. “8 points for us, we win!" she smiles smugly as she goes to high-five MG.

“That’s totally not fair!” Josie yells out as she springs up from the couch.

“Who’s the one that’s being a sore loser now?” Penelope rolls her eyes dramatically.

“Your clues were totally bogus. That’s not how you play the game!” 

Penelope scoffs in offense at that. “It totally is. The only rules are that you can’t say the words on the card and I didn’t! It’s not my fault MG and I both have galaxy brains.”

“At the very least, it should be a tie with me and Landon. You totally cheated with that confident one, it shouldn’t count!”

“How did we cheat? No one told you to make snarky commentary!!”

“And no one told you to show up to game night unannounced but look, _here we are_! Also, what kind of idiot thinks pizza is a vegetable?”

“U.S. Congress would be the idiot you’re referring to. Maybe _you_ should read the news sometime!!” Penelope exclaims.

“Well, maybe _you_ should-”

“Okay, am I missing something here? Did Josie have a lover that we totally don’t know about?” Landon frowns, confusingly looking on as the two girls continue bickering, unaware of anything and anyone that weren’t each other.

“Yeah, I’m definitely thinking the same thing.” Maya nods on, eyeing them with piqued interest.

“Well, they either were a thing or they definitely will be soon. This tension is on another level.” Kym shrugs.

“Oh, most definitely. I’d totally bet on that.” Ethan laughs softly, being careful not to wake up a sleeping Jed laying on his shoulder. (Even though he was currently sleeping through a blaring screaming match.) 

“See, team Posie all the way!” Lizzie whispers excitedly, a knowing grin covering her face.

“You’re a dork, Lizzie Saltzman.” Hope chuckles as she affectionately shakes her head.

“Maybe so, but that’s one of the things you like about me, Hope Mikaelson.” Lizzie claims with a small, endearing smile and a slight tilt of the head.

And Hope really can’t deny that she doesn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this isn’t where I initially planned to end the chapter but it got really long so I had to cut it.
> 
> So, next chapter will be the continuation of it! 
> 
> Chapter title from Golden Revolver by San Cisco
> 
> As always, let me know what you think in the comments below! Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru


	8. so why would i try when you're not even remotely, remotely kind? pt. ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA continuation of game night with the squad!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Happy Saturday to all! 
> 
> I see a lot of people deciding to leave the fandom and I don't blame y'all! The writing this season is.... quite frankly, a bit underwhelming.
> 
> However, I will continue to be here for as long as you will all have me, writing hella over the word caps I set for myself and cranking out chapters in my own world, regardless of how bad canon gets. Season 2 Legacies who?? I don't know her!
> 
> So here is a brand new chapter, released a bit early with deepest condolences over this week's episode. 
> 
> Sorry in advance if you don’t know some of the games!

After managing to lure Penelope away from Josie by Hope inviting her over to the kitchen for a round of shots, the group decides to move on to play one large game of Uno, combining two decks so that there’s enough cards for everyone.

When the two friends return to the living room, they realize that there are only two available spaces in the circle, both located in between the Saltzman twins. 

Penelope and Hope simultaneously stop dead in their tracks, then turn to look at each other in an intense, competitive fashion while Hope raises one eyebrow in challenge. They both end up sprinting like hell towards the circle, with Hope ending up sliding in victoriously next to Lizzie. 

"Sorry babe, better luck next time." Hope laughs gleefully as Penelope glares at her, annoyance apparent on her face.

~~Josie hates the small-twisting feeling of something unpleasant inside of her that instantly comes upon hearing that little pet-name.~~

Penelope lets out a dramatic huff as she plops down in between Hope and Josie and to Josie’s surprise, the raven-haired girl just sits there silently and doesn’t acknowledge her, just staring at Landon distributing the cards. Josie briefly thinks that they might actually get through a civil game until Penelope suddenly turns to look at her.

"Hello again, Josie." Penelope grins playfully.

"You are like a lingering cough." she sighs out in response.

"Sickness? Oooh, you know I love it when you talk dirty to me." Penelope laughs. 

"I-" Josie starts out with a scowl. 

"Alright, that's all. Everyone pick up your cards. And let the game begin." Landon declares in a strange voice, laced with something that can only be described as a hinting tone.

Everyone picks up their pile of cards from the ground and starts shuffling through them, organizing their hands in a more desirable way. Josie works to organize her cards by color and increasing number when Penelope seems to lean over dramatically to peer at her cards. 

"Penelope!! What the fuck??" Josie yells out as she leans away from her. 

"Hmm? Oh sorry, just stretching." she shrugs, feigning ignorance. 

"Okay then, liar. Stretch the other way then!” Josie yells as she shoves Penelope forcefully in the opposite direction. 

Penelope laughs loudly in response and Josie reflexively rolls her eyes exaggeratedly. 

“You’re so annoying. I really despise you, you know that?” Josie huffs out. 

“No, no you don’t.” Penelope simply replies.

“Yes, yes I do.” Josie says as she pouts at Penelope’s stubbornness.

“No, no you don’t.” Penelope repeats and Josie just exhales exhaustedly in defeat, looking at the shorter girl in what seems like a permanent glare on her face.

Funnily enough, both girls are too involved with one another to notice that everyone in the room has raised their drinks in silent cheers to take a couple sips, the rest of the group previously deciding to create a drinking game out of the free, on-going live entertainment put on by Josie and Penelope. 

\----------------------------------------------------

"Another draw two?? I really hope you burn in hell." Josie grumbles. 

"I'll see you there, babe!" Penelope laughs with delight as she blows a mocking kiss towards her. 

Josie frowns deeply and rolls her eyes back dramatically for about the tenth time that round as the rest of the group silently groans, grimaces, or sends a silent prayer up as they finish off the rest of their drinks in just the first five minutes of the game. 

\----------------------------------------------------

"Okay, this deck definitely wasn't shuffled!! That's like the third Wild Draw Four you've put down in a row!!" Penelope complains loudly. 

"It's not my fault that you're the one who lost our little reverse battle." Josie smiles cheerfully in seeing Penelope's displeasure. 

“You know what, it’s not my fault that I was distracted by the burning passion in your eyes!” Penelope argues defensively.

“What?? That doesn’t even make sense, you just didn’t have any more available cards!” Josie says as her smile is replaced with a confused frown. 

"You know what? You two are tearing this family apart!!!" Lizzie mock cries out as she reaches behind her to grab the bottle of vodka. (About two turns ago, Lizzie had discreetly moved the bottles over from the kitchen area and placed them directly next to the couch for easy refill for the entire group, knowing that the two girls would be relentless with their weird flirting, teasing, and mocking.)

She passes the bottle over to Ethan, who passes the bottle around the circle so that everyone can refill their cups for the third time since they started playing. (Except for Jed, who knocked out before they could even get to their first refill.) 

"You know, maybe this wasn't our best decision." MG slurs slightly as he frowns deeply and looks down into his newly-filled cup. 

"I'm totally with you 100%." Landon says sleepily with a voice of regret as he nods choppily, eyes seemingly closed. 

"Playing Uno? I'm totally with you guys, I'm sick of this stupid fucking color game." Penelope protests as she throws all her cards onto the discard pile and puts her arms behind her, leaning back coolly on her hands for support. 

"You’re such a sore loser. Just admit you were losing and go!" Josie yells as the others follow suit and throw their cards out as well. 

"Alright, fine, I was losing. Happy now?" Penelope asks sharply with a roll of her eyes. "That game is stupid anyways. Let's do something that actually requires skill instead of pure luck." Penelope suggests as she moves to cross her arms tightly. 

"Fine." Josie snaps.

"Fine." Penelope parrots back. 

"Good." 

"Good."

"Oh my God, can we stop?" Kym groans as she covers her face with both hands, the room starting to spin and tilt from the incessant drinking. 

"Yeah Josie, can you stop?" Penelope mocks. 

"That's not even what she was asking!! You have such poor listening skills it's actually somewhat concerning!" Josie exclaims as she places her hands on top of her head in frustration. 

"Aww Josie, you're concerned about me? I didn't know you cared so much."

"That's not- I- You-" Josie huffs out as her hands form tiny fists in front of her. 

"Holy shit, that was like at least four cues." MG whispers as he turns to Hope with a horrified expression. 

"And with that, I'm gonna take a suuuper quick nap in the nice, cool bathtub." Ethan garbles as he struggles and stumbles to get up. 

"Same, but like me, right here." Maya mumbles drowsily as she sinks deeper into the couch cushion, eyes closed as she raises her hand and falls asleep in that position almost instantly. 

Lizzie turns to look at Hope with amused eyes and they both burst out into laughter almost instantly. 

"I can't believe their unresolved tension literally drove people unconscious." Lizzie manages to say eventually as she fans her eyes, willing tears to stop forming. 

"Do you wanna keep going? I'm still good. I'm still pretty conscious." Hope smiles dopily as she sluggishly puts up two thumbs up. 

"Oh God no, I don't want to end up taking a trip to the hospital later. That would just be bad. And honestly, it would probably just take only another five minutes." Lizzie chuckles as she shakes her head. 

\----------------------------------------------------

"Bow down now or I will crush you." Josie threatens with the most intimidating voice she can muster.

"Oh honey, you crush on me." Penelope replies back smoothly with a knowing look.

Josie frowns deeply and scoffs audibly with disbelief upon hearing this, the background music of the Mario Kart character selection menu also filling the air around them. 

**THREE SHORT MINUTES LATER…..**

"REALLY?? UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE. A FUCKING BLUE SHELL, JOSIE?? FIVE SECONDS BEFORE THE FINISH LINE? THAT'S SO FUCKING CHEAP!!" Penelope screams out as she jumps up from the couch and throws the controller onto the cushions next to her. 

"If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen!" Josie laughs victoriously. 

"Ewwwww. Who the fuck even says that? What are you fifty?” Penelope frowns in disapproval.

“Yeah, out of ten!” Josie yells out, clearly attempting to mock Penelope’s flirting.

“Who’s the cocky one now?” Penelope chuckles as she shakes her head, playing along.

“Still you. Always. Cocky and a dick.” Josie proclaims as she proceeds to stick her tongue out. 

“Watch it Saltzman, don't forget that I have a big thing for revenge." Penelope warns as she grins wickedly and the screen loads up the next map.

Towards the end of the next round, the two girl's racers are neck-and-neck with one another. Both Josie and Penelope have jumped up from the couch and are now standing in focused concentration due to the closeness of the race, neither wanting to give the other the satisfaction of having bragging victory rights 

However, at the very last second, as Josie's Princess Peach is about to cross the finish line, Penelope unexpectedly reaches her arm out and shoves Josie back forcefully into the couch. 

"HEY!! WHAT THE FUCK!? ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?" Josie yells out as she drops her controller on the couch from pure shock and Princess Peach falls off the Rainbow Road.

 **WINNER!!** fills the screen as Penelope's Yoshi does a cute, little victory dance in his cart. 

"Not so fun when it's done to you, huh Saltzman?"

Josie turns to shoot daggers at Penelope and has to physically stop herself from throwing her controller at Penelope’s lit eyes and shit-eating grin.

\----------------------------------------------------

MG and Landon stare puzzled at the TV screen in front of them displaying their current Mario Party game, their characters tied for first while Josie and Penelope’s characters are tied for last.

“You know, for how competitive they are, I kind of expected this to be harder.” Landon mumbles as he leans towards MG.

“Yeah, same, but look at them. I don’t even think they’re trying to win anymore. It’s mostly sabotage at this point. I mean, even I’m winning over them and I’m literally using one hand.” MG chuckles as he shakes his head. 

“WHAT?? Why would you even choose me to steal coins from when both the guys have way more?? We both have zero coins! You’re just shooting yourself in the foot at this point.” Josie yells out as the boys turn to look at the on-going commotion. 

“It’s all about the symbolism, dear Josie.” Penelope grins as the mini-game starts to load and Josie frowns deeply.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met someone as insufferable as you.” Josie sighs dramatically as Penelope pushes both their characters off the moving platform and they fall into the dark abyss below together. 

“Same here, boo. Same here.” 

\----------------------------------------------------

After a losing tie, the two girls drag Hope and Lizzie into playing beer pong with them.

“It’s on! Saltzman sisters versus the Mikaelson-Park sisters!!” Hope screams out excitedly as they reset the cups into pyramids on the dining room table.

Penelope sighs in faux tiredness. “For the last time Hope, we are not sisters. We tolerate each other at best.”

Hope grins widely. “That’s exactly what I imagine an older sister would say to her annoying little sister. Nice one, sis. Way to stay in character!”

Penelope and Hope start to engage in witty banter with one another while everyone looks on amusedly. Everyone except one person, of course. 

“You okay Josie?” Lizzie asks quietly as her sister is currently crossing her arms tightly and looking at the raven-haired girl as if she’s hoping a piano would spontaneously fall from the sky and drop on her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that she’s just so annoying!!” Josie groans irritably as she moves to rearrange the cups in a neater fashion. 

“Could it be, my dearest Josie, that by being annoyed, you’re giving her exactly what she wants?” Lizzie asks as she boops Josie’s nose with her index finger.

“Which is what exactly?” Josie questions curiously as she quickly swats away her twin’s finger.

“No idea, I’m still a little drunk right now.” Lizzie chuckles.

“That didn’t really help me. Like at all, Liz.” Josie sighs deeply in response. 

“Alright, you two ready to get your asses kicked?” Hope yells out enthusiastically.

“You mean, are you two ready to get your asses kicked?” Lizzie yells back with a large grin.

“Suuuuuper original and clever Lizzie! Anyways, should we make this interesting? Losers have to kiss the winners?” Penelope suggests with eyes seemingly glowing and a wicked grin. 

Hope and Josie’s heads simultaneously shoot up at this, eyes bulging out of their heads in disbelief.

Lizzie chuckles in response. “Sure, why not Park?”

A deeply scowling Josie elbows Lizzie swiftly and the blonde’s laughter is replaced with a loud “OW!” instead.

“Lizzie! I’m not kissing either of them. Especially Penelope Park!!” Josie hisses out.

“Relax Jo, she’s just joking.” Lizzie rolls her eyes. 

“WAIT A SECOND…. Either way, we’re gonna have to kiss, regardless of who wins?? That’s super dumb!!" Josie exclaims in realization.

“Huh, pretty and smart. Good for you, Josie Saltzman.” Penelope states with a teasing grin. 

“Yeah, that kiss is definitely not happening. In your dreams, Park.” Josie scoffs.

(Penelope doesn’t mention that yes, she has indeed dreamt about what it would be like to kiss Josie on multiple occasions.) 

The four start the drinking game and it’s clear by the first five minutes that the effects of the alcohol have impacted Hope and Penelope harder than the other two girls, with them two missing a majority of their shots and Josie and Lizzie making most of theirs.

Josie uses their large, five cup lead to use her turns into intentionally throwing the ball at Penelope, clearly not aiming for the cups anymore.

“Josieeee!!! This game is gonna go on forever at this rate if you keep that up!” Lizzie whines.

“You’re throwing the game on purpose? Huh, I didn’t know you wanted to kiss me this badly, Jojo.” Penelope grins cockily as she ducks the incoming ping pong ball.

“What!! That’s clearly not what’s happening. We’re in the lead.” Josie says as she rolls her eyes in pure annoyance.

“Sure…. Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetie!”

“I sleep fine at night, thank you very much.” Josie snaps back.

The game finally comes to an end when Penelope makes a joke about Josie hitting on her after she successfully hits her in the face with the ping pong ball and Lizzie makes the winning shot, turning a deep shade of red after Hope rewards her with a congratulatory kiss on the cheek.

\----------------------------------------------------

The two move on to an intense game of Jenga, with Josie trying to distract Penelope every turn by fiercely blowing on the block tower and aggressively screaming out her name.

(Penelope won’t deny that the later almost got her to lose focus, but probably not in the way the other girl intended it to; Penelope’s face also ending up extremely flushed throughout the game from suggestive, intrusive ideas and not from drinking, despite what everyone else thinks.) 

However, Josie is the one that ultimately ends up losing when Penelope turns around and catches a water bottle Hope tosses to her, her shirt lifting up and exposing her back dimples, resulting in a wide-eyed Josie losing motor control of her hand and plunging it directly into the tower.

\----------------------------------------------------

“What card game do you feel like losing at now?” Josie teases as she flips the card box over repeatedly in her hands. 

“Strip poker?” Penelope suggests with a flirtatious grin and a wink.

Josie frowns as she opens up the deck and throws the Joker card like a ninja star, hitting Penelope square on the forehead.

The two girls end up playing a quickly escalating game of Slapjack on the living room table, both sitting on the rug in front of one of the couches.

“Huh, did we finally find something you’re good at Josie?” Penelope grins playfully as Josie successfully wins another round.

“I’m good at plenty things. You’ve just never seen me do them.” Josie says offhandedly, more concentrated in the game than the ongoing conversation.

“Oh, is that so? I would looove to see your skills sometime, then.” Penelope smirks.

Josie pauses a bit to think about her previous sentences and starts to blush quickly from the implications. Penelope almost forgets to slap the cards in front of her, too taken by the adorable sight of a confused and flustered Josie Saltzman. 

Josie gasps loudly as a smirking Penelope collects the mass of cards, realizing that she was distracted by Penelope’s flirting.

“Yeah, like cleaning up a crime scene. Wanna see that?” Josie spits out with narrowed eyes. 

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” Penelope shrugs effortlessly.

“Ewwww, you’re such a cliche.” Josie frowns in disapproval.

"OH MY GOD, can y’all stop flirting now? Some of us are trying to kick Hope’s ass in Super Smash Bros." Lizzie yells out as the TV speakers blare out action fighting noises.

“Key word here is trying, ladies and gentleman!” Hope chuckles slowly. “But yeah, stop flirting, it’s breaking my concentration.” Hope snorts as she quickly smashes the buttons on her controller.

"WE ARE NOT FLIRTING!" Penelope and Josie yell together as they snap their heads towards the TV's direction in sync.

(Even though that to some extent, they both know it’s a lie, especially for Penelope. It’s just become a natural instinct to defend themselves from Lizzie or Hope nowadays.) 

“We’re just having heated discussions. Consecutively!” Josie tries to explain.

“I mean I wouldn’t call them discussions if you’re always wrong.” Penelope shrugs lazily.

“I’m not always wrong. You’re always wrong.” Josie pouts with her arms crossed, like a child throwing a mini-tantrum.

“Oh, real mature Josie.” Penelope rolls her eyes as she places a card onto the table.

“You’re the one who pushed all the buttons on the elevator!! Who’s the real immature one here?” Josie says as throws down a Queen of Hearts.

The two continue yelling at each other while simultaneously playing Slapjack, their slaps hitting the table more and more aggressively with each turn.

“They might break the table soon." Landon comments, eyes wide while staring at the intense card game unfolding in front of them.

"Yeah, probably. I need more alcohol / I don’t want to be around this area when that happens.” MG mumbles to Landon, leaving their mini haven of pillows and intimate conversation at the farthest corner of the couch.

“Ooooh, I’ll come with!” Landon says enthusiastically as he follows MG into the kitchen and away from all the chaos in the living room.

“Sooo, it’s been really nice getting to know you tonight.” Landon smiles softly at MG as he opens up the fridge and grabs a can of WhiteClaw.

MG shoots Landon a beaming smile upon hearing that. “Yeah, after we stopped playing games with the two lovebirds, tonight has actually been pretty great. But it also could be because they got us drinking almost non-stop with their weird flirty fighting and we all got pretty drunk, if you think about it.” MG grimaces as he opens the can with a _pop_ and the beverage begins to fizz.

"Do you want to be the Han to my Solo?" Landon blurts out suddenly as MG lifts the can to his lips, Landon’s voice ladened with nerves. 

MG’s eyes go wide as he drinks the spiked seltzer and continues to do so for a couple of seconds, Landon waiting anxiously for a response as he hears Josie call Penelope an unbearable asshole in the background.

"No." MG answers immediately after he puts the can down and Landon visibly deflates at this. Although he kind of expected the answer, he was still disappointed when he got it. Why did he ever think he could find love? Stupid! Stupid! Idiot!

"I can be the Chewy to your Han though!" MG exclaims as he dons a big smile and offers up a high five in consolation to Landon. 

Landon accepts the high five gladly; however, largely disappointed at the idea of just friends. He starts to wonder if he was just imagine their chemistry the whole night, misreading signals as being flirty instead of just friendly.

But when their hands meet, MG bravely interlaces their fingers together. "Or your Princess Leia. We'll see what the future holds." he shrugs shyly. 

The two drop their entangled hands under the kitchen counter and out of view, sharing small, shy smiles with one another as the background noise of Penelope and Josie lover’s quarrel play on as the soundtrack of their intimate moment (as if this was a cheesy teenage rom-com).

Back in the living room, on one other side of the couch, Ethan whispers "This is the most intense foreplay I've ever witnessed in my entire life." into Jed's ear. 

"I know, the sexual tension is so apparent it physically pains me." Jed whispers back as he shifts in Ethan's lap to reach his ear. 

"Five bucks they end up falling in love by the end of our annual camping trip?" Ethan grins playfully. 

"Ten. And you're on. They'll never figure it out in just four months." Jed laughs loudly as he shakes his head. 

"Hey, cut them some slack. It did take us a while to get there too!" Ethan exclaims as he lightly slaps his shoulder. 

"And thank goodness we did." Jed mumbles as he leans in and starts to passionately make out with his boyfriend. 

"FUCKING GROSS!! GET A ROOM YOU TWO!!" Maya shouts from the dining room table, looking up from her game of Trouble! with Kym.

The two abruptly stop kissing as Jed pulls away to laugh at the interrupting remark and Ethan turns to glare at his sister, clearly annoyed. 

"You sure you want that, sis?" Ethan smiles largely at her. 

"Oh God, ew, I didn't actually mean it!" Maya fake gags at the thought and the two boys share a laugh together. 

"HEY Y’ALL, my friend just texted me that they're opening up a new Mummy exhibit downtown at the museum! Who wants to go with me??" Kym yells excitedly as she looks up from her phone, loud enough to be heard over the two arguing girls still going on at it.

"Me, if it means I don't have to witness this disturbing PDA any more!!" Maya shouts as she shoots her hand up dramatically. 

"You should definitely trick Kaleb into going. I'd definitely pay to see that." Lizzie suggests as she leans to the side and continues to aggressively push buttons on the controller and everyone laughs in agreement. 

"He'd probably pretend to faint to avoid looking at any more history stuff." Jed grins.

"No no, he'd definitely just find a tree or something to lay under the whole day." Ethan adds on. 

"Orr……. he'd go and-" Landon starts suggesting.

The entire group is distractedly caught up in sharing funny scenarios about Kaleb, which is probably why none of them notice Penelope and Josie's fight truly escalate, now resorting to physically fighting over a card. 

"Penelope, let go!!! I slapped it first!" Josie yells out as she pulls the card towards her. 

"No way, I slapped it first! My reflexes are top notch so it was definitely me!!" Penelope replies as she forcefully tugs back on the card

"There you go again, complimenting yourself! Why are you so self centered?" Josie frowns in blatant disapproval.

Penelope suddenly steps over the short table while still firmly grasping onto the card and enters Josie's personal space.

"Well, maybe because I have good reason to be?" she suggests with a cocky grin and a slight head tilt.

Josie temporarily loses brain function at their sudden close proximity as she unintentionally gets lost in Penelope's deep green eyes, her eyes flickering down to the shorter girl's ~~enticing~~ lips for a quick second.

Penelope grins knowingly as she uses this opportunity to pull hard and yank the card from Josie’s grasp. The raven-haired girl thinks she's about to be victorious when Josie surprises her and quickly reacts, pulling with an ungodly amount of force. 

Penelope’s eyes widen in horror as she tries to stop herself in time but unfortunately, her reaction just isn't quick enough, with her skull colliding HARD with Josie's nose with a loud _**crack**_.

 _"HOLY SHIT!!!!!! FUCK!!!!"_ Josie shrieks out at an ear-piercing volume as she scrambles backwards towards the bookshelf for support with her head tilted up, hands springing to her nose to stop the rapidly gushing blood.

"OH SHIT, I'M SO SORRY!!!" Penelope screams out panicked, quickly approaching Josie and standing in front of her, both hands out cautiously. 

Everyone suddenly stops what they're doing, jaws dropping at the surprising and sudden turn of events. Eyes go from Penelope looking extremely guilty to Josie standing nearby, pinching her nose desperately, bright red blood flowing everywhere. 

"What the FUCK did you do to her, YOU BITCH??" Lizzie shrieks as she drops her controller and stands abruptly, angrily stomping up a storm towards them. 

"I-I SWEAR, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!! I DIDN'T MEAN TO! JOSIE ARE YOU OKAY? OH MY GOD, I'M SO SORRY. I SWEAR I DIDN'T MEAN TO." Penelope yells desperately as she puts both her hands up innocently. 

"Someone get something to stop the bleeding.” Lizzie commands sternly. No one moves a muscle as they all shift their eyes to look at one another, unsure of what to do. “RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!" Lizzie yells out angrily and everyone quickly springs to life, scrambling to find something, anything to help. 

"Do you want to sit down or something?" Penelope questions softly, her full attention on helping the other girl. 

"Josie, how bad does it hurt? No offense, but it looks really bad. Like really fucking bad." Lizzie grimaces painfully, eyes quickly scanning her sister's face. 

Everyone in the apartment is so preoccupied in finding something to stop the bleeding or focusing on Josie, which is probably why no one notices Penelope's close proximity to Josie's candle on the bookshelf that she lit earlier for "good vibes" after their intense Monopoly game. 

(Which, by the way, ended with Penelope attempting to flip over the impossibly heavy table multiple times and ultimately failing; her settling for flipping over the board and making it rain in fake money in an extremely over-dramatic fashion.)

"Yeah, I think that I should probably sit down." Josie agrees weakly. 

Penelope and Lizzie both move to help guide Josie to sit on the couch, which is when the injured girl sees the small flame steadily making a home onto Penelope's shirt. 

"Holy shit, my candle!!" Josie exclaims with widened, panicked eyes. 

"What??" Penelope and Lizzie blurt out simultaneously, clearly puzzled by the outburst. 

"Pen, your shirt!!" Josie screams loudly as she removes one of her hands from her nose and motions to her sleeve. 

However, the damage is already done at that point, the small flame spreading rapidly down the sleeve of her thin, button-up shirt. 

"OHHHHHH FUUUUUUUCK!!!" Penelope screams out, waving her flaming arm around desperately, quickly patting it with her hand in a panicked attempt to put it out. 

\----------------------------------------------------

And that’s how Penelope Park ends up in the emergency room for the second consecutive weekend in a row. She sighs loudly to herself in disbelief of the entire situation, wondering if she is possibly one of the most unlucky persons in the entire world.

“So how is my favorite roomie doing?” Hope questions as she opens up the drawn curtains and suddenly appears with what seems to be a standing, ENORMOUS pile of junk food.

“Yeah, are you okay? Would you like a nutritious refreshment?” The snack pile questions. 

It lowers slightly and Lizzie Saltzman’s blonde head peeks out at the top, with Penelope laughing at the funny sight of it all. “I'm not too bad. Could be worse. Just sucks it’s a Friday night and the ER is swamped right now. And uhhhhh sure, I’ll take some chips, I guess.” 

“Yeah, we just snuck in right now ‘cause no one would let us in. Everyone is too busy to catch us though.” Hope chuckles as she throws a Doritos bag at Penelope and she catches it with her non-bandaged hand. 

“Thanks hoe. I mean Hope.” she laughs playfully as Hope gives her a deadpanned, unamused look.

"Wait a sec, why aren't you trying to kill me right now? Aren't you super pissed that Josie’s hurt?" Penelope's frowns deeply, confusion etched on her face. 

“We talked to her earlier. She explained the whole thing and strongly insists it was an accident. So you're off the hook for now, _Park_. But just know that I’m watching you from now on." Lizzie explains with suspiciously narrowed eyes and Penelope nods cautiously in understanding. 

"Speaking of Josie, I’m gonna go see if she wants some of our vending machine haul." the blonde says as she carefully lifts up the pile of goods, making sure not to drop any. 

"I’ll meet you at the spot?” Lizzie questions hopefully as she turns to Hope.

“Yeah, can’t wait.” Hope grins happily as the other girl returns her enthusiasm and turns to leave.

“Oooh, what spot?” Penelope waggles her eyebrows suggestively.

“There’s this really nice secluded garden area with a bench that we found while we were walking around earlier. We were just gonna talk and hang out while we waited for you guys.” Hope informs while shrugging.

“Wow Mikaelson, what a top tier date. Nature, fine dining, _and_ talking all night under the stars.” Penelope says with a teasing grin. “Well, actually, maybe one star. That’s probably an airplane. LA pollution really sucks.” Penelope continues on with a frown and a sigh.

“Shutt up, it’s not a date.” Hope denies weakly as her face starts to flush.

“Mhmmm, do you guys need anything? Some snacks? A condom? I’m sure I can swipe some for you.” Penelope jokes as she moves to open up the top drawer of the portable cabinet stationed next to her.

Hope rolls her eyes in faux annoyance as Penelope shuts the drawer. “And with that, I’m gonna go.”

“Kids, they grow up so fast.” Penelope says wistfully as she pretends to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye and adds a couple sniffles in for dramatic effect.

Hope shakes her head affectionately and opens the curtains to leave but just as Penelope expects her to step out and close them, she slowly turns back around.

“Do you- do you think that it would be too much if I bought Lizzie some flowers from the gift shop?” Hope asks unsure, wringing her left wrist with her right hand, which is an action Penelope recognizes as something she only does on the rare occasion when she is extremely nervous or self-conscious.

“I think… that she’d really like that. Try to see if they have red chrysanthemums or irises.”

Hope looks at her inquisitively until she shrugs, “Both of them mean hope, love, and cherished companionship.” 

A small smile starts to grow on Hope’s face as she nods in understanding. “That actually sounds really good. Alright then, thanks for the help, flower nerd. I’ll see you around!” 

Hope turns to leave and closes the curtains with one fluid motion.

“Good luck! And don’t forget to use protection! I’m not ready to be an aunt yet!!!” Penelope yells out after her retreating figure as she receives an aggressive, single finger through the slit of the curtains in response. 

\----------------------------------------------------

Many, many hours later, just as Penelope is about to go through with her plan of running as fast and far away as possible to escape her ER prison of pure boredom, something finally happens that makes her actually want to stay.

"Knock knock?" Penelope hears Josie’s voice, laced with discomfort through the curtains.

"Uhhh…... come in?" Penelope responds as she moves to stand from the gurney. 

"Sorry, that was really awkward. I don't know what proper etiquette is for emergency room curtains." Josie smiles sheepishly as she emerges from behind the curtains.

"Huh, now that I think about it, me neither." Penelope says as she scrunches her eyebrows together in thought.

The two stand there together in silence for a while, with Penelope looking at Josie curiously in anticipation and Josie staring at the ceiling intently. 

"Sooooo, MG's arm is really broken huh? The epic ostrich tale is actually true." Josie laughs nervously after a few moments. 

"Mhmm. Looks like it." Penelope deadpans seriously, arms crossed and arching a single eyebrow. 

Josie sighs audibly as she begins to look extremely apologetic. "Look, I'm really sorry I didn't believe you before. You have to admit though, it sounded pretty unrealistic."

Penelope laughs softly and nods in agreement. "Yeah, it's always an adventure with those two. And I'll think about it. I'm a _very sensitive person_.” she says jokingly as she places both hands over her heart. 

Josie mock narrows her eyes at this and Penelope just laughs loudly in response. 

"It's okay. Apology accepted. Water under the bridge. How's your nose doing? I'm sorry again for that, by the way. It was an accident, I swear." the shorter girl promises.

"Don't worry, I know it was. Thanks for the apology but it was just bad luck, I guess. And well, they re-aligned it so it shouldn't be long until it starts healing on its own. How's your arm and hand doing?"

"Only a couple burns here and there. They'll heal eventually. With time." Penelope shrugs nonchalantly. 

"I'm really sorry that that all happened. If I didn't light that candle, you probably wouldn't be here right now. But you broke my nose so we're kinda even?" Josie tries weakly as she shrugs. 

"If it helps you sleep at night, then sure." Penelope replies dryly, an apparent frown on her face. 

Josie returns her frown, uneasily unsure if Penelope is actually okay. 

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It's totally fine." she laughs out and Josie lets out a huff of relief. 

"If anything, it helps my street cred and my _already incredible_ game.” Penelope says cockily as she waggles her eyebrows and Josie rolls her eyes, feigning annoyance.

“What do you think, do chicks dig scars?" Penelope grins playfully. 

Josie smiles lightly and shakes her head. "Depends on the situation, I guess."

"Ahh okay, let me rephrase the question then. If I came up to you and told you I fought an all powerful witch with fire powers and lived to tell the tale, what would you think about that?"

"Well, I guess I would think you're some kind of superhero." Josie teases back. 

Penelope smiles and chuckles gratefully at that, happy that Josie still remembers the conversation they shared about childhood dreams when they were trapped in the elevator together. 

"You sure you're okay though?" Josie asks again, voice full of concern as she eyes the bandages thoroughly and starts to move towards them, briefly reaching out to touch them carefully on instinct before quickly dropping her hands to her sides. 

"I'm seriously fine, Josie. Don't worry about it. The true tragedy was having one of my favorite shirts having its sleeve burned off. RIP Mr. Creamy, King of Egyptian Cottons. Long gone but never forgotten. Pyro Josie _strikes_ again!" Penelope teases playfully as she makes dramatically karate chop motions with her hands. 

"HEYY!! Shhhh, I told you about my secret past in confidence!!" she exclaims as she pouts while tightly crossing her arms, with Penelope laughing at how cute she looks when she throws a mini tantrum. 

"Wait, do you give names to all your shirts?" Josie asks curiously, amusement crossing her face. 

"I only give names to the things I really like, Jojo." Penelope replies smoothly with a flirty grin. 

Josie shakes her head in disbelief and cracks a small smile. "Wow, you really don't stop huh? You were literally just on fire a couple hours ago."

"I feel like there's definitely a hot joke in there somewhere but I'm too tired to think about it right now." 

Josie nods in agreement, "Same."

The two stand there together in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s company while being surrounded by the muffled noises of the hustle and bustle of an overworked emergency room on a busy Friday night, steadily coming through the curtains. 

Although the weight of her eyelids increases ten-fold with every passing minute, Penelope rallies up the energy to stay awake, not wanting to waste the opportunity to talk to Josie. 

"Sooo, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say we're both probably banned from game night?" Penelope jokes with a small chuckle.

"Oh, almost most definitely. It's okay though ‘cause our pub ban is almost over so we'll probably be there instead next week." Josie shrugs nonchalantly. 

"Pub ban?" Penelope asks, confusion written across her face. 

"It's a long story." Josie grimaces in remembrance. 

Penelope pretends to intently look around their small, secluded emergency room area surrounded by the drawn curtains.

"I think I have enough time." she shrugs with a mini smile. 

"Alrighty then. But first, I think that for...... our friends' sakes we should probably do this. Truce?" Josie asks as suddenly draws her right hand forward. 

"Just for our friends’ sakes? Nothing else?" Penelope questions doubtfully as she arches a single eyebrow and eyes the outstretched hand warily. 

"I also think….. that maybe….. it might be nice to have you as a friend again." Josie admits reluctantly, avoiding eye contact with the other girl. 

"Awwww, don't tell me, did you miss me Saltzman?" Penelope grins knowingly. 

"Maybe. Did you miss me?" Josie inquires back as a light blush starts to dust her cheeks. 

"So that truce then……. Third times the charm?" Penelope asks suddenly in what seems like an extremely poor attempt to change the subject. 

"I see what you did there. You're losing your touch, Park." she teases as she shakes her head in fake disapproval. "But for the sake of the new truce, yes. If you're in, I'm in." Josie shrugs. 

Penelope grins whimsically in response. "Sure thing, Josimothy." The taller girl rolls her eyes affectionately at the unapproved nickname as Penelope positions her hand so that it's only an inch away from Josie's, but doesn’t make another further movements to close the gap. 

"But only on one condition. You have to promise me one thing." Penelope says as she looks at Josie with earnest eyes. 

"And what’s that?" Josie asks suspiciously. 

"You have to promise not to fall in love with me." Penelope ~~somewhat~~ jokes as she grins widely and waggles her eyebrows once.

A couple beats of silence go by and Penelope internally panics, thinking that she may have royally screwed things up before anything even started. A frown starts to rapidly form on Josie’s face and Penelope starts to silently berate herself, her brain searching for a solution to this now turned-awkward situation. 

That is, until she hears Josie scoff dramatically and roll her eyes excessively. "That’s not a problem at all Park. You don't have to worry about that.”

Penelope unnoticeably lets out a sigh of relief upon hearing Josie’s response, her shoulders dropping slightly from their currently raised position. "You got yourself a deal then, Josie Saltzman." Penelope beams. 

Penelope puts her hand in Josie's and moves to shake it but this time around, there’s a noticeable difference in this one compared to the previous two that they’ve shared so far. 

Almost instantly, they both feel a warm, electrifying sensation flowing from one hand to the other and it feels like a long, lost. unknown connection has _finally_ been made. 

(It kind of feels like two souls wandering aimlessly around the universe for an indefinite amount of time before finally finding one another and coming together.) 

Josie makes a small, audible gasp and her eyes quickly move up to find Penelope's, deep green ones locking on intensely to light brown ones. In this exact moment, Josie swears she feels some sort of invisible shift. It's a hard feeling to describe and pinpoint really, but she can tell that something has changed in a minuscule but significant way. 

(When she looks back on this moment later on, Josie likes to think this is where their love story really begins. This simple touch that acts as a catalyst for everything.) 

They intently stare at each other with attentive eyes and hands linger with one another a little longer than what one would consider a friendly until Penelope abruptly drops her hand from Josie's and Josie is left disappointed with a cold, empty hand. 

"So this story all takes place in the Library. Not the real one, but the pub near campus. So we usually go to trivia-" Josie blurts out quickly, if only to distract herself from the crushing loss of such an intimate moment. 

"Wait, now wait a second. I just remembered.” Penelope interrupts with a raise of her hand. “Since we are in _such good terms_ now, can I know your real name now? In the name of the truce?" Penelope grins playfully. 

"Mmmm……" Josie strokes her chin thoughtfully as Penelope's eyes seem to shine with hope. "No." she deadpans as she shakes her head slowly. 

"Damnit. At least I tried.” Penelope shrugs with a frown. “Mark my words. One day Saltzman, one day." she mock angrily shakes her fist in the air as Josie lets out a small chuckle. 

"Maybe if you play nice, I'll tell you one day." Josie lightly teases. 

"One day… I like the sound of that. Ambiguous, like we might have some kind of future together." Penelope grins brilliantly as her eyes seem to sparkle under the bright, fluorescent emergency room lights. 

Josie shrugs nonchalantly as she tries hard not to think of the heavy implications of the other girl's words, barely succeeding in ignoring a flicker of some kind of feeling she can't quite place in her chest. 

"Ehhh, who knows what the future holds? Knowing us, this is probably our third truce out of like at least twenty." 

(Josie thinks it feels some sort of wrong when it leaves her mouth; there’s something about this one that makes it feel like they’re going to last.)

And just as if Penelope has the ability to read Josie’s mind, she replies with a "Nah, I have a good feeling that this is gonna be a lasting one. We got injured together, that type of shit bonds people for life." she grins cheekily and Josie shakes her head affectionately in return. 

"Anyways, you'd probably miss me too much, according to my anonymous sources that shall not be named." Penelope jokes. 

"I said maybe I missed you! That's not exactly a guarantee." Josie insists a little too adamantly. 

"Uh huh, sure. I totally believe you buddy." Penelope replies sarcastically as the taller girl starts to pout in protest. 

"But just for the record….. I missed you too, Mojo Jojo." Penelope lopsidedly smiles softly with a small, endearing head tilt.

Josie narrows her eyes in disapproval of the nickname but cracks a knowing smile at the confession, a teasing but somewhat affectionate retort on the tip of her tongue when an ER nurse spontaneously bursts through the curtains, effectively popping and destroying their small bubble of privacy. 

"Okay, your discharge papers finally went through so you're free to go Ms. Park." she declares, voice oozing with exhaustion. 

"Oh, okay, thank you." Penelope nods with a stilted, polite smile. However, neither girl makes a noticeable effort to move, secretly wanting to spend more time with one another. 

"Unless…. you two want to stay and hang out in the ER? Was I interrupting something? " the nurse asks suspiciously with a quirked eyebrow, feeling a weird, unidentifiable tension in the room. 

"What, no why would we want that?" "Uhh no, we're good, thanks." the two girls blurt out simultaneously as they both move towards the gap in the curtains. 

\----------------------------------------------------

They walk out in silence together to the waiting room to find Hope and Lizzie snoozing together on the old, scratchy hospital chairs, with Lizzie's head comfortably resting on Hope's shoulder and their hands intertwined loosely between them. A large, beautiful bouquet of fresh irises sit comfortably on the small, wooden table next to them.

"Who would have thought, your sister and my…. basically sister?" Penelope whispers to Josie as they stand quietly in front of the sleeping duo.

A small smile starts to grow into an enormous one across Hope's face as she suddenly snaps one eye open. "I knew you loved me!!" she whisper-yells, being careful not to wake the sleeping blonde. 

"Oh fuck me." Penelope murmurs to herself. "What?? I never said such ridiculous things." Penelope denies firmly as she shakes her head and feigns innocence. 

"Mhmm, sure. Anyways, did you two finally kiss and make up?" Hope whispers teasingly, eyes shimmering with amusement. 

"Shut up!" Josie and Penelope yell loudly in unison as they both start to turn a shade of crimson. 

Lizzie abruptly jumps out of her seat in response and hits her head hard against Hope's chin, leading to both of them screaming out strings of profanities in pain. 

"WHAT THE FUCK GUYS? I get you two to make up and this is how you repay me? Y'all seriously suck." Lizzie grumbles out as she rubs the top of her head soothingly and sends death glares to the two dark-haired girls. 

"Sorry Liz!” Josie exclaims as she smiles sheepishly. “Come on, it's late. Let's go home and sleep." she adds on as she motions her head in the direction of the sliding glass doors. 

"Ooh, what kind of sleep? And your place or mine?" Penelope asks, a suggestive smirk covering her face as they all slowly make their way towards the exit. 

"Oh my God, you're so annoying. I despise you." Josie frowns as she shakes her head. 

"No, no you don't." Penelope insists with a small, knowing smile. 

"No. No I don't." Josie fake sighs in defeat as the four of them exit the ER doors, with Lizzie holding her flowers with one arm and slinging her other lazily around Hope’s shoulders while Penelope's laughter echoes softly into the crisp, early morning air. 

And as the remnants of darkness start to leave the sky and the sun slowly starts to rise, Penelope can’t help but notice the symbolism; the start of a fresh, new day marking the start of a new chapter in her story with Josie Saltzman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, finally!! :) Who's ready to see the ONLY condition of the truce be broken??
> 
> Chapter title from Golden Revolver by San Cisco
> 
> As always, let me know what you think in the comments below! Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru


	9. how does it sound if we spend the night out?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA penelope asks josie for a platonic(?) night together, lizzie is being mysterious, and hope is actually kind of good at giving out advice?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes!! I'm so sorry for the late upload! I just got back from a trip and it's been super chaotic over here. I also wanted to proofread one more time before I posted so here we are! 😬😬
> 
> I'd like to say a couple things before we start off here. 
> 
> First of all, I want to thank y'all for helping me reach 400 kudos!! Y'all are the best, truly. 🙏🙏
> 
> Second of all, thanks for everyone who took part in the poll last week!! Thanks for reassuring my insecure @$$ that I'm not being annoying with frequent updates. Lmaoo 🙈🙈
> 
> That being said, an overwhelming majority of people chose the second option, which was medium sized chapters with weekly updates so that's what we'll do from now on! 
> 
> Third of all, you have probably noticed the pretty decent sized word count for this chapter (~13.8K eek!! 😱😱). For the few that voted for the first option of longer chapters, just know that this chapter is specially for y'all. Consolation prize and whatnot. 😬😬
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!!

After the whole game night debacle, in unspoken, unofficial terms of their newly found truce, Josie and Penelope only really see each other once a week, which is on Friday nights for trivia at their local pub.

(At the first trivia night, Penelope wagers Josie that their team will win; Josie disagrees that they will because they never do but that night, Penelope leaves the pub with Josie’s number in her phone and a victorious, cocky grin on her face.)

That is, until Hope’s conversation with Penelope over dinner on a Tuesday night, a couple weeks after their late night hospital visit.

Penelope’s phone lights up on the living room table with **that HOTtie from the elevator 🔥🔥🔥 (4)** popping up on the screen, consequentially dinging four times after.

“Mmmm, is that Josie again?” Hope grins knowingly as she hands Penelope a plate of freshly made spaghetti as she exaggeratedly leans over the couch in order to pretend to read the screen.

“None of your business, Mikaelson. Also, thank you.” Penelope says sincerely as she accepts the plate with one hand and snatches her phone with the other.

“Sure thing. One less starving college student in the world, I’ve done my good deed for the day.” Hope lets out a small chuckle. “And I beg to differ. As your best friend, it is really important for me to be actively involved in your love life!” Hope adds on with what Penelope would classify as an extremely obnoxious grin.

Penelope frowns deeply as she places the plate of spaghetti in her lap. “Huh, that really doesn’t sound right. Sounds like harassment if you ask me.” 

“Okay, not like actively actively! Just to like get you established." Hope attempts to justify herself as Penelope doubtfully arches an eyebrow. "You know what I mean, I’m just trying to help!” The shorter girl scoffs.

“Mhmmm, okay. And what does Josie have to do with my alleged 'love life'?" Penelope asks with air quotations around the (to her) offending phrase. 

Hope's jaw drops dramatically in response and she stares at Penelope like she just asked her what 1+1 is or any other stupid question with an obvious answer. 

“Are you being serious right now?” Hope questions in disbelief and Penelope just nods her head dumbly, looking strangely at her roommate. 

“We're talking about the girl you send good morning and good night texts to everyday? The girl who I’m sure has no correlation as to why you spend at least an hour before every trivia night just choosing an outfit. The girl who you talk about to me like minimum five times a day.” Hope scoffs as she mixes her spaghetti distractedly with her fork.

“Oh, today, Josie met a Nicholas Cage look-alike at work. Oh, Josie told me she liked my outfit this morning on Snap. Josie sent me the funniest joke today. Josie found a penny on the floor today and it was tails up so she flipped it over so it could be someone's lucky penny.” Hope mocks in a high-pitched voice that seems like a truly awful impersonation of Penelope. 

“Hmm, what are you going on about now?” Penelope asks in a confused, distant voice.

Hope looks up to glare at the other girl and sees her totally absorbed into her phone, not seeming to listen to her _AT ALL._

“The girl who I would bet on my life that you’re texting right now. _My life_ , P. That’s how sure I am.” Hope exhales dramatically and shakes her head in disbelief of her roommate's naivety.

 **that HOTtie from the elevator 🔥🔥🔥 :** hey, just got home from work! I’m safe but thanks for worrying about lil old me hehe :)

 **that HOTtie from the elevator 🔥🔥🔥:** glad to hear that your exam went well cause i know you were stressing about it for a while lol

 **that HOTtie from the elevator 🔥🔥🔥 :** oooh also i saw this and thought of you :) just replace jackpot with trivia night haha

 **that HOTtie from the elevator 🔥🔥🔥 :** https://i.pinimg.com/564x/2d/75/7a/2d757aed482f9bd24e167f6083f9c957.jpg

Penelope opens the link and a large grin begins to grow on her face as she chuckles at the turtle meme that pops up on her screen. 

“Fucking dork.” she mutters as she shakes her head affectionately. 

“The girl that you’re probably going to marry one day.” Hope teases with a knowing grin.

Penelope's head shoots up to look at Hope with an extremely bewildered expression. “E-excuse me?? W-why would you even say that??” Penelope stutters out with a huge frown. 

“Okayy, chill out P, I only said it cause I thought you weren't listening. I’m sorry, it was just a joke. I know commitment is like…. one of the scariest things for you. Like right after asking p-” Hope grimaces sympathetically. 

“OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH OF THAT. Can we change the subject now?” Penelope shuts down Hope instantaneously as her shoulders stiffen and she proceeds to concentrate on mixing the tomato sauce and noodles together, clearly distressed to where that conversation was headed.

“Sure, if you want.” Hope nods as she turns on their SmartTV and loads up the Youtube app, the increasing tension in Penelope's shoulders gradually disappearing. 

“Soooo, do you have any plans for this Friday?” Hope questions with poorly disguised indifference as she focuses on finding a music video under the Suggested Videos section.

Penelope suspiciously narrows her eyes at Hope. “Are you trying to ask me if I have plans for Valentine’s Day? I’m flattered Mikaelson, but I do think that Lizzie might be expecting you to ask her to be yours instead.” she teases.

“As if, Penelope.” Hope scoffs and rolls her eyes as she presses play on some Mac Miller music video. “And if you must know, we are going out on Friday.” she says smugly.

“Oh yeah? Congrats, I’m happy for you! And what is the _lovely_ couple doing? Renting out a couple U-hauls?” Penelope laughs as she shovels a mouthful of pasta in her mouth.

“Hahaha, you’re so funny!!” Hope ridicules back. 

“Thank you, it is one of my top twenty qualities.” Penelope grins cockily. 

“Wow, twenty? _Really?_ Huh, are we _completely_ sure about that?” Hope inquires with scrunched eyebrows and a confused look and Penelope responds promptly with an angrily raised finger.

Hope laughs. “I’m not sure what we’re doing. Lizzie is planning the whole thing. She’s like... super looking forward to it.”

“Okayy… And you’re not?” Penelope asks as she confusedly arches an eyebrow.

“Of course I am!! It’s actually really nice to be taken out and woo-ed. It’s been awhile since I’ve been treated like this. It’s a nice change of pace, I think.”

“I’m really happy for you, Hope. You deserve someone who will treat you right, you know?” Penelope says softly with a genuine smile, truly happy for her friend. 

“Thanks P. You do too.” Hope responds back softly with a grin. 

The two girls eat quietly for a bit, watching the TV together idly when Hope suddenly decides to break the silence. 

“Hey, you should ask Josie to dinner on Friday.” she suggests in what a manner that seems EXTREMELY out of the blue to the other girl. 

Penelope drops her fork on her plate with a loud _CLANK_ and starts choking profusely at this, desperately moving to grab her glass of water from the coffee table. Hope moves to set both their plates on the table and pats her back in comfort, a guilty, sympathetic grimace covering her face.

“Dinner? With Josie? What the fuck, Hope?” Penelope manages to get out while staring at the other girl with wide, glossy eyes after numerous gulpfuls of water.

“What?? It’s just a suggestion.” Hope shrugs nonchalantly, not understanding the big deal about the situation.

“You want me to get dinner. Alone. With Josie. On Valentine’s Day.” Penelope blinks slowly as Hope nods back enthusiastically with an encouraging smile.

“Uhh….. How do I say this nicely…." Penelope trails on as she rubs her chin in pretend thought. "That sounds like the worst fucking idea ever Hope! NO!” Penelope yells out. 

“Ughhhh, why not P?” Hope groans as she flops down on the couch.

“Okay. Well first of all, we’ve never hung out before unless we were basically forced to by some sort of twist of fate or tricked into doing so by some obnoxious meddlers. Cough cough." 

"Hashtag no ragrets." Hope smiles smugly and shrugs, clearly unbothered by the call out while Penelope frowns and sighs audibly in response. 

"Please do not say hashtag out loud any more. It's embarrassing."

"Hashtag I'm still gonna do it. Hashtag no one can stop me!" Hope exclaims as Penelope attempts to pounce on her and she sprints off the couch, howling in laughter.

Penelope glares at the other girl standing in front of the TV from her position on the couch. "Second of all, last time we spent quality time together with somewhat just the two of us, one of us ended up with mild burns and the other ended up with a broken nose. Third of all, you want our first solo hangout to be on Valentine’s Day?? The holiday with all the hearts and the overpriced flowers and the creepy looking baby child-looking thing with wings that shoots people with arrows?” Penelope scoffs incredulously with a hint of disgust in her tone. 

“Okay. Well first of all, you had hella fun in that trapped elevator. You basically fell in love with her right there and then.” 

Penelope opens her mouth instantly to express her dissent but Hope cuts her off with a raise of her hand.

"Secondly, that whole injury-ER thing was an accident due to your whole weird sexual tension thing that you guys got going on. Not that I'm complaining or anything because it fuels y'alls competitiveness and we currently have a winning streak at trivia. Poor other teams, never stood a chance against your guys's never-ending desire to jump each other's bones." Hope chuckles as she shakes her head. 

Penelope narrows her eyes and again attempts to say something when-

"HEY, I’M NOT DONE YET!!” Hope yells out before Penelope can get a single word in to defend herself as she instead pouts while crossing her arms in protest. 

“Third, it doesn’t even need to be like a romantic thing. Friends go out on Valentine’s Day I’m pretty sure?? I’m just saying, it might be nice to actually talk to her face to face instead of a screen and spend some time with her outside of a crowded pub with a large group of friends and some dude yelling questions into a microphone all night.”

Penelope uncrosses her arms slowly as Hope's words start to sink in. She knows her friend is right, but she'll never give her the satisfaction of knowing that. 

“Huh. That actually doesn’t sound too bad.” Penelope admits as she stares off into the TV with narrowed eyes, lost in thought. 

“Just a thought. You know, cause I’m gonna be with Lizzie and MG is gonna be with Landon. Also, it’s a Friday night and you should have some fun. Even if it is a platonic friend’s outing.” Hope shrugs effortlessly as she hands Penelope back her plate.

“I guess so. What if she says no though? It’s kind of weird, I feel like there’s some underlying implication cause of the whole Valentine’s Day thing. We just got to being friends and it’s actually going pretty well. Well, I think it is. Not really sure what she thinks." Penelope frowns in uncertainty as she places the plate back on her lap.

“You never know. Just use that good ole’ Penelope Park charm, I’m sure she’ll say yes.” Hope grins knowingly.

"Aww, you think I'm charming Mikaelson?" Penelope smirks as she waggles her eyebrows.

"Eh, most of the time. Except when you get really nervous. I've only seen it a handful of times but it's really funny to see you turn into this awkward, rambling mess that can't seem to shut up. Which will probably happen when you ask Josie cause you have a huge, hopeless _cru-ush on her_." Hope sing-songs the last part as she grins largely, grabbing her plate and moving to sit back down on the couch. 

"What?? That totally doesn't happen! And it wont!" Penelope frowns in protest. 

"Alright, prove me wrong thing. Ask her." Hope shrugs. 

"Fine. I'll think about it. Probably not though." Penelope shrugs back, feigning nonchalance as the two get back to eating dinner and watching the TV. 

(Even though she knows that deep down, she's already made up her mind. Like there really was any other choice over spending quality time with Josie Saltzman.) 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The conversation with Hope leads Penelope to the department store that Josie works at approximately three days later on a Friday, also notoriously known as the day of romantic love. (AND ALSO PLATONIC FRIENDSHIP. POTENTIALLY. MAYBE. Penelope would like to think so.) 

Penelope had been planning on texting Josie (she had typed out the simple question in about a hundred different ways; with different emojis, with different punctuation, with different word choices, in the past couple of days but she just couldn't get herself to press send) but decided it would be best to just ask her face-to-face. 

She thought that maybe asking in person would get rid of the anxiety of waiting for a response via text. 

(She also thought that her weak heart might grow some courage over the last couple of days but unfortunately for her, it clearly didn't happen.) 

As the raven-haired girl slowly made her way to the back of the store and towards the customer service desk, all the heart shaped decorations hanging from the ceiling, the numerous chocolate and teddy bear selections she passed by on sale, and the lovey-dovey couples she had to swerve around had made her become increasingly nervous. 

Penelope sighs audibly and shakes her head in disapproval. She shouldn't have waited until actual Valentine's Day to say something. Now _this_ looks bad. 

_What if she says no? What if the whole line sees and they all laugh at me? What if she cries cause she'd rather get hit by a bus than hang out with me? What if a ceiling tile falls and renders her unconscious before she can answer? Would that be a sign that I shouldn't do this again if she loses her memory after it? Most importantly, why am I so nervous right now? We're just friends?? Maybe this was a bad idea._ Penelope thinks to herself as she idly grabs a random item off the clearance shelf and falls in line.

Penelope frowns as her negative thoughts start to consume her. _Worst of all, what if she already has a date?? There's no way no one hasn't asked Josie. Who wouldn't want to be with her?? I mean, spend time with her? Fuck me, this is gonna be sooo embarrassing when she tells me she already has plans._

As Penelope is almost quite done convincing herself to leave, she can't help but suddenly overhear how the customers treat Josie. 

The incessant talking-over, the pretentious attitudes, the condescending demanding of speaking to the managers, a clearly stark contrasts to Josie's kind voice, unwavering patience, and genuine tone of understanding. 

It makes her worries disappear and anger appear in its place. 

Josie was too fucking nice sometimes. Well, not to her. Well, only in the beginning. And when she was kinda hurt. But yeah, they've turned a new leaf and everything. So she was now. And that's what mattered.

Josie deserved better than being a human punching bag, that's for sure. She deserves a nice night out, Penelope decides.

"Next." Josie's voice signaled, exhaustion seeping through the cracks of her perfectly-crafted customer service voice, leaving Penelope frozen in her tracks. 

_Shit, she sounds super tired. Maybe I shouldn't do this? Mission abort??_ Penelope thinks to herself as the anger subsides and turns back to panic.

As soon as Penelope decides to not go through with it and quickly turns around, the customer before her leaves and Josie is left with a perfect view of Penelope's retreating figure, hiding her face with a box in a poor attempt to protect her identity. 

(Not like it mattered anyways, because as much as she refuses to admit it, Josie can recognize Penelope's backside and figure within seconds. But it's not like she's been looking over her Instagram and Facebook photos at an unusually high, borderline stalker-ish rate. That would be super weird and creepy. And definitely NOT something a friend does to another friend.) 

“Penelope?? What are you doing here?” she asks in pure disbelief, shock written across her face. 

Penelope turns back around rapidly, a sheepish grin covering her face. "Oooooh, hi Josie! Didn't see you there!" she awkwardly chuckles as she saunters towards the counter. 

“What are you doing here?” Penelope questions as she forcefully puts on a poor attempt of a casual smile, internally cringing instantly at her stupidity in a moment of panic. 

“I- I work here?” Josie frowns confusedly as she points to the store logo printed on her shirt.

“Right, right, I can see that. You’re behind the counter and everything. Makes sense.” Penelope chuckles, nodding her head furiously.

“Are you alright, Penelope?” Josie inquires, a bit alarmed by the other girl's abnormal behavior and just overall presence.

"Uhhh yeah, I'm just here to purchase this lovely item right here." She attempts to coolly head nod as she places the item slowly on the counter, awkwardly tapping it once afterwards. 

"You're here to buy a MANLY CO. men's combo pack of razorless shaving cream and extra-strength deodorant?" Josie questions amusingly with a high eyebrow raise, clearly perplexed by Penelope's item choice. 

"What?? Why would I- Oh." She frowns as she looks down at the item and realizes her own-doing. "Yes? I mean I guess so…..What can I say, I'm super hygienic. And even though I think it's totally unnecessary for items to be assigned to a gender based on function and advertising rooted by capitalism and sexism, who could pass up on this amazing clearance deal?" Penelope grimaces with two thumbs up. 

Josie stares at Penelope for a few seconds, clearly perplexed by her spontaneous rant. "Okay, weirdo." Josie chuckles as she scans the item. 

_Okay, well this is a fucking disaster!! Say something you idiot!!_ Penelope's head screams.

"That'll be $19.50." Josie states with a tired but most genuine smile she's given since she started her shift. 

"Oh, okay. Sure." Penelope replies as she takes out her debit card from her phone case and hands it to Josie. 

"Oh, you can just use the chip thing." Josie instructs as she motions towards the card machine and Penelope nods while putting the card in. 

"So, you have any hot date plans for tonight? Trying to clean up and smell good last minute?" Josie teases half-heartedly. 

(For some reason unknown to her, she doesn't feel too thrilled about potentially knowing the answer to that first question. Whatever, it's just cause she's tired from her shift and is not in the mood for small talk, she guesses.)

"I haven't had the best of luck with these chip things. Yupp, it says error." Penelope sighs deeply as the machine beeps that annoying tone that she's come to be so accustomed to. "And uhhh, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"You wanted to talk to me about your debit card chip problem?" Josie asks confusingly. "And you should probably take it out and re-insert it again."

"Oh, okay." Penelope nods as she does exactly that. "And no, I wanted to see if-" 

*ERRRR ERRRR ERRRR ERRRR*

"It's another fucking error." Penelope lets out a dramatic huff as she runs a hand through her hair. 

"Yeahh, you should probably just slide your card." Josie suggests with a small, apologetic smile. 

"Okay, yeah, sure. What's the point of these damn chip things if they don't even work more than half the time??" Penelope grumbles as she slides her card. 

Josie chuckles as she types in her PIN. "You're telling me. I use them on my own cards when I buy things and I also have to deal with them here. That insert swear word here machine and beeping error noise make almost nightly appearances in my dreams."

(Penelope almost mentions that as of recent, instead of error noises, it's Josie that shows up in hers, but decides against it.) 

"Did you just say insert swear word here?" Penelope questions, amusement clearly displayed across her face."

Josie blushes slightly in embarrassment. "Uh yeah, I'm never allowed to swear on the job. Obviously."

"Never ever? I'll pay you $10 right now if you scream fuck right now." Penelope smiles mischievously.

"Just for $10? Pass. If you want me to scream that, you'll have to at least take me out on a date first." Josie winks flirtatiously while Penelope's jaw drops in pure shock.

Finally, the transaction goes through and the register starts to rapidly print out the receipt. "Alright, you're all set then! Have fun with….. all this." Josie grins largely and suppresses a laugh as she holds out the ridiculously long receipt, littered with deals and coupons that no one has ever or will ever read. 

Penelope is left utterly baffled on how she ended up with shaving paraphernalia, extra-strength deodorant, a piece of paper almost half her size, and no ~~date~~ hangout plans with Josie. 

"Thanks…. I guess…." Penelope drags out with a deep frown as she picks up her purchase and essay of a receipt but makes no effort to leave. 

"Is everything alright?" Josie questions concerningly. 

"Uhhhh yeah, everything is fine. Can I talk to you for a second?” Penelope mumbles sheepishly, refusing to make eye contact with the taller girl and rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. 

“Oh...... Okay... Yeah sure, let me just see if I can take my break now. I'll be right back." Josie says as she eyes Penelope strangely and walks through the backdoor and out of sight. 

"Cool cool cool, I'll be right here!" Penelope yells stiltedly as she walks a couple of steps back from the counter, moving away from the weaving line of very displeased people. 

Penelope is distracting herself from her nerves by looking at a shelf of really cheap candles (Damnit, she really needed these; why'd she have to pick up the stupid men's hygiene kit instead? She really does have the worst luck.) when the staff door finally opens and Josie casually strolls up to her. 

“Alright, I'm here. What is it? Is everything okay? Oh my God, is it Hope? Is Hope okay??" Josie worries with enlarged eyes as her brain involuntarily jumps to the worst kind of conclusion. She puts her hands on Penelope's shoulders and forcefully shakes her, demanding her attention. 

(Not like she needed to though; Penelope always takes extreme notice of the other girl every time she even so much as breathes in the same room as her.) 

"What?? No!!" Penelope blurts out and Josie drops her hands in shock. 

"So Hope's not okay?? Fuck, is she in the hospital?? Cause I know Lizzie was super excited about tonight and-" Josie rambles on as she paces back and forth at a swift pace while waving her hands around frantically.

"What?? I meant no, it isn't Hope! Not that Hope isn't okay!" Penelope exclaims and Josie stops herself abruptly. 

"Oh, phew. That's good to hear." Josie nods with a closed-mouth smile. Her smile suddenly drops as her face morphs into confusion. "Then, what is it? Why are you here?"

The nerves come back in full force as Josie's large, brown eyes observe Penelope's closely and the raven-haired girl starts to instantly panic.

“I-I was just….. uhhh….. wonderinifyouhaanyplantonight?” Penelope rapidly spews out the last part just as Josie crosses her arms in what she thought was impatience. 

"What?" Josie frowns confusedly. 

Penelope's heart sinks at Josie's initial reaction and she is just about to straight-up book-it with no explanation when Josie speaks up again. 

"Sorry, I didn't get that last part. You said it super fast."

"Oh. I was just wondering if you were doing anything tonight." Penelope smiles with a tightly closed-mouth. 

“Why?” Josie asks, confusion made apparent all over her face. 

(Penelope swears that in this moment, she blacks out completely.)

“I- I uhhhh…. was wondering if you.....mmmmm....maybe wanted to go out?.......W-with me?” Penelope eventually gets out while staring down at her black combat boots and nervously playing with her rings. 

Josie's eyes widen comically and she is rendered speechless, like that was the last thing she expected to come from the green-eyed girl. 

Penelope swears there's some sort of magic in the air due to each second moving like they were actually minutes, or even hours. She is suddenly made hyper-aware of her pounding heartbeat and sweaty palms, swallowing dryly while anxiously waiting for a reply. 

Even though she knows it's just as friends, she's still very much scared of her response. She doesn't know why she's so nervous. 

(But that's a fucking lie. Of course she does.) 

“Oh. I-...... You-....." Josie tries but fails to produce a proper sentence. 

Penelope is suddenly brought back to another time in her life, one that changed her in more ways than one. She fucking hates the sickly feeling that comes with the waves of nostalgia of it all. 

"Huh." Josie stands there, eye-brows knitted, seemingly dazed and confused. 

Penelope suddenly snaps back into the conversation, silently cursing herself for not giving Josie her undivided attention.

 _Don't fucking do that. This isn't the same thing. At all. That was in the past. This is the now._ the raven-haired girl thinks to herself.

"Uhh, Josie?"

"Is this because of the joke I made earlier? Because I was totally kidding. I only said it cause it was something that you would say and I thought it would be funny. I didn't really mean it. I don't regret it though because the reaction I got from you is priceless. But probably not as priceless as how I look right now. This is a joke right? Cause there's no way this is real. But if this is real, then I don't know. I haven't really date-" Josie drones on and on a few beats later, still in genuine shock from the question.

“OH! Sorry, not like out out. Not like a date. Nooo. Nooooo sir. Like a hang out! Or an outing! For friends. Just friends. Platonic friends. We're just friends!” Penelope yells out abruptly as she interrupts Josie, her face burning with the embarrassment of leaving that small (but very important) detail out. 

"Oh." Josie simply says as Penelope's rapid influx of words slowly sink in and Penelope is left standing there, uncomfortably shifting her weight from foot to foot. 

"Wait, what? I'm sorry, we're just what? I don't think I got that. You only said it like… once." Josie grins as she teases the other girl lightheartedly, finally getting her bearings straight five seconds later. 

"Haha, very funny." Penelope replies sarcastically with an eye roll. 

“So, a platonic just friends outing then?"

"Yup." Penelope nods awkwardly. 

"On Valentine’s Day?” Josie asks incredulously, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow in suspicion. 

"Yeah, is there something wrong with that?" Penelope frowns.

"Kinda, it's sort of weird." Josie frowns back.

Penelope's frown deepens and she ends up sighing defeatedly after a couple moments of stilted silence. “Look, this is me offering an olive branch. Officially. I still feel bad about the whole nose-breaking thing. Today's date is just one big coincidence. Timing is bad, that's all." 

Josie raises both eyebrows in suspicion and proceeds to stare down Penelope as the raven-haired girl uncomfortably shifts from foot to foot under Josie's scrutinizing gaze. Penelope doesn't know what exactly she's looking for, but luckily for her, Josie eventually seems to find it. “Okay, fine. I'll bite." Josie exhales, nodding slowly and dropping her arms in surrender. 

"Yes!" Penelope yells out as she makes a small fist of triumph, her confidence coming back full force. 

"And where would we go?” 

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” Penelope grins excitedly.

“That sounds a taaaaad bit serial killer-y.” Josie grimaces with doubt. 

“It’s a surprise, Josie! Don’t you trust me? Actually no, don’t answer that, I don’t want to know.” Penelope grimaces back. 

"Where's your sense of adventure, hmm? I'm disappointed in you Jojo." She adds as she frowns and puts both hands on her hips, shaking her head in mock disapproval. 

“Ehhhh, I don’t know. I do have a long line of suitors already.” Josie shrugs nonchalantly as she hand motions to the line of impatient and angry looking customers. 

Penelope frowns as she looks towards the line, confused by Josie's poor attempt at a joke. 

“Kidding, they’re just very irritable people returning used toasters and other goods.” Josie smiles shyly and Penelope lets out an awkward laugh. 

"Ohhhh, I thought you were hinting that you would rather go out with any of them than me."

"Wh-"

"Out on a friendship date of course!!!" Penelope adds on quickly.

"Uhhh no, that's not what I-" 

"Hey you, where could I find a stainless spatula?" A random shopper cuts in. 

"She's on break right now, _sir_." Penelope snaps back, very much annoyed by the interruption. 

"Okay, that's nice and all but she still works here. And she's still on the clock." He frowns. 

"Ehhh, you don't know that for sure." Penelope shrugs, feigning indifference towards the bald man. 

"Well, she's still wearing her uniform…" His frown deepening.

"She could like wearing it for fun, to confuse people or something off the clock." Penelope sasses back. 

"Look, I'm just trying to get a damn spatula. Can you tell me where the hell it's at or not?"

"Well _kind sir_ , you could probably find it shoved up-" Penelope starts raising her voice threateningly as she narrows her eyes and takes a bold, confident step towards him. 

"It's fine, Pen. That would be on Aisle 8, with your other kitchen supplies and utensils." Josie says quickly, effectively cutting off Penelope while plastering on a fake smile. 

The shopper takes a couple more seconds to glare at Penelope, then nods in understanding as he suddenly turns away to head towards that direction. 

"He didn't even say thank you… Rude ass." Penelope grumbles, arms crossed in irritation. "How you can handle dealing with that all the time is beyond me."

"You've never worked customer service in your life, have you?" Josie questions, amusement laced in her tone. 

“Maybe so…. Anyways, I’ll pick you up at eight? Here at the desk?”

“I never gave you a time.” Josie states as she narrows her eyes supiciously at the shorter girl. 

“Oh, right….. What time should I pick you up around?” Penelope laughs awkwardly as she rubs the back of her neck. 

“Wait a second. How did you know I get off at eight?” Josie asks curiously. 

“Would you believe me if I said magic?" Penelope grins sheepishly. 

“Noooope! I’m guessing either Lizzie told you or you’re actually a stalker, which makes me kinda want to lean towards no.” Josie says as she scrunches her nose adorably. 

“Alright, fine, fine. Perhaps an annoying blonde disclosed details about your work hours after some relentless teasing. But you didn't hear that from me." 

(Josie silently makes a mental note to make Lizzie a nice snack or something later but not give her an explanation for it. She didn't want to give her twin the satisfaction of knowing her teasing of wanting to spend quality time with Penelope proved to be correct.)

"Well, since you did almost fight a customer for me, I guess the least I can do is let you treat me out." Josie grins playfully. 

"Really?" Penelope asks hopefully in disbelief. 

"Yes, really. Unless you actually wanted me to say no?" Josie frowns, confusion etched across her features. 

"No, no. It would be good if you said yes."

(Penelope has to bite down _hard,_ on her tongue afterwards to stop "It would be even better if you were screaming it later." from falling from her lips. She didn't want to scare off the other girl into saying no.) 

"Okay then. Is that all? Cause I have to get back to work soon." Josie says as she points her thumb back towards the desk. 

"Yes, that is all. Oooh, wait. Completely irrelevant to where I'm taking you, but don't eat. Like at all. Starting right now. I'm not saying starve but just like don't eat anything. Like be hungry by eight." Penelope rambles on awkwardly. 

"I think I got it. So what you're saying is I should definitely eat my ginormous, extremely filling sandwich I brought to work right before I meet with you?" Josie teases. 

"Oh yeah, you should definitely go ahead and do that. Don't stop on my account." Penelope nods in mock agreement. 

"Okay then, sounds good." Josie smiles.

"Good." Penelope smiles back. 

"Great." Josie nods, not knowing what else to say. 

"Great." Penelope parrots. 

The two stand there grinning and nodding at each other like idiots in stilted silence, neither sure how to exit the conversation. 

"Thank you, I'll see you then." Penelope spontaneously blurts out as she subconsciously holds out her hand. 

Penelope then instantly wonders if it's possible to mentally facepalm yourself to death. Or die from embarrassment. Either one was a very valid option right now. 

But unfortunately for her, neither one happens so she's stuck in this awkward position, already in too deep to take it back. 

Josie initially just stares at the hand in pure confusion, not really sure what game Penelope's playing at. 

That is, until she looks up and finds an extremely flustered and awkward-looking Penelope refusing to make eye-contact with her. It's such a rare sight to see and is actually quite endearing. From a completely friendly and platonic perspective, of course.

Josie bites down on her lower lip, trying her best to hold in her laughter as she takes Penelope's hand in hers and gives it one solid shake. "I'll see you then." she declares in the most professional voice she can muster.

Penelope nods excessively without making eye-contact and screams internally as she quickly pulls her hand back and fast-walks away at a practically sprinting pace, realizing only then how sweaty and clammy her hands actually were. 

_A handshake?? Really? Was that a business transaction or job interview? What the fuck is wrong with me??_ Penelope's mind screams out. 

The raven-haired girl frowns deeply in confusion. She really needed to get her shit together for tonight, before her big ~~date~~ hangout with Josie.

Josie watches on as the other girl quickly retreats, shaking her head in mild amusement. "Weirdo." she chuckles softly as she turns around to get back to work. 

\------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, I finally did it Mikaelson." 

"OH MY GOD, YOU AND JOSIE FINALLY BANGED IT OUT??" Hope shrieks into the phone as Penelope grimaces and holds the device an arm’s length away from her, wanting to be able to somewhat keep her hearing capabilities. 

"What?? NO!!! I asked her to hang out with me tonight!!" Penelope exclaims as she retrieves her pack of emergency cigarettes from the middle console of her car. 

"Oh. Hang out? Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?" Hope chuckles softly.

"You're so fucking annoying. I hate you."

"That's a lie. You love me."

"I do not."

"Then you love Josie?"

"I do. Absolutely not."

"Yet."

"I don't know what you want me to say. I'm not a fortune teller Hope." Penelope retorts sassily as she combs through the glove compartment, searching for a lighter. 

"How'd the asking go? Did you panic and get all nervous?"

"No. I was as cool as a cucumber."

"Now, that's a lie if I've heard one."

"I plead the fifth." Penelope grins triumphantly as she snatches a lighter from the back corner.

Penelope hears Hope chuckle and proceeds to hear shuffling noises in the background, which she assumes is her flipping through her ridiculously enormous wardrobe. She uses this lull in the conversation to exit her car and goes to sit on the hood of it, wedding her phone between her ear and her shoulder. 

"Nervous for tonight?" Hope asks a couple moments later. 

"Why would I be?" Penelope asks as she pulls a cigarette out of the pack. 

"You tell me." 

"It's just a hangout." She mumbles distractedly with a cigarette perched in between her lips, one hand hovering over the end of it and the other attempting to start the lighter with multiple clicks of the wheel. 

"Oh yeah? Then tell me you're not attempting to light a distress/nervous cigarette right now."

Penelope stops her efforts and frowns deeply, pausing to take the cigarette out of her mouth. 

"I- you know what?"

"What?"

"It's kinda scary how well you know me. Maybe we should forget about the Saltzman twins and just run away together."

"Don't tempt me, Park."

Penelope chuckles lowly and shakes her head affectionately as she pockets her smoking gear. "How's it going with Lizzie anyways? Are you ready for tonight?"

"I'm not sure. I had a super cute outfit prepared for tonight but she just texted me this morning with an ambiguous 'Dress casually. And be prepare to sweat.' " Hope quotes as she frowns in confusion. 

"I- is that like a sexual reference or something?" Penelope questions as she moves to hold her phone. 

"God, I hope so."

"Gross. Please stop."

"Cause I'm thinking of like a consecutive nights sex bender with lots of-"

"I am _begging_ you to please shut your mouth, Mikaelson."

Hope chuckles deeply. "Only if you tell me what's going through your mind."

Penelope frowns and contemplates for a bit between sharing her feelings or hearing about her roommate's sexscapades in explicit detail. "Fine. Maybe I am a bit nervous about tonight." she confesses eventually. 

"Why?"

"Just cause." the raven-haired girl shrugs.

"Just cause what?"

“Just cause reasons.” Penelope says as she reclines back to lay on the hood of the car. 

“Penelope.” Hope states in a warning tone.

The dark-haired girl takes a deep sigh and closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose tightly. 

"Cause what if it means something?" she mumbles softly into the receiver. 

"So what if it does?"

"Wooow, thanks for that."

"I'm serious, P. No offense, but it wouldn't kill you to be a bit more vulnerable from time to time."

"I get it, okay? It's just hard for me, you know that."

"I do. But hey, you asked her just to hang out right?"

"Yeah, I told her it was a form of apology for the whole game night disaster. In fact, I may have panicked and said the word friend a multitude of times." Penelope grimaces in remembrance. 

"Welll, that sounds casual as fuck. I wouldn't sweat it at all. Just take a couple deep breaths before meeting her and remind yourself that you two are just friends. It’s kinda like if you were hanging out with me or MG." Hope shrugs. 

"With the exception that I don't want to choke her every ten minutes?"

"I mean, what you two do behind closed doors is not any of my business." Hope cackles loudly. 

Penelope can't see Hope but she can already picture the shit-eating grin plastered across her face and she groans in disapproval.

"But in all seriousness, just relax. It's just a friendly hangout, no pressure. And if you do happen to feel something, just continue on through the night. And we can just come back to it some other time. MG and I are always available to talk, whenever you need it." 

"Huh, that's actually not bad advice. Thanks Mikaelson. You know, Lizzie might have made some points in choosing you to be her girlfriend." Penelope teases. 

Hope sighs audibly. "She's not my girlfriend. At least not officially."

"WHAT?? How the fuck is that even possible? You two hang out like almost all the time!!" Penelope exclaims as she shoots up from her current position. 

"So?? It's not like I'm gonna blurt out 'Hey, I totally think we should talk about defining the relationship and what we are to each other in the middle of our Orange is the New Black binging or… other activites."

"Ew, gross. Again. But just to be clear, you want to be in a steady relationship with her?"

"Yes, of course I do!"

"Then make it happen idiot!!"

"I'm trying!!"

"Well don't try dummy, succeed!!"

"Gee, thanks for the A-1 pep talk, Coach Park." Hope says, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"Anytime! My amazing pep talk for mediocre advice!!" Penelope grins.

Hope shakes her head in mock disapproval. "Oh shit, what time is it? Fuck, I gotta go. I promised MG I would call him before I hopped in the shower. Unless you want to join? He probs just needs advice for Landon though."

"Mmm, hard pass. I just thought of something that I want to do before I meet with Josie."

"Alright, good luck with everything then. Just remember, it’s not that big of a deal. Don’t overthink it. I’ll talk to you later."

"Same to you. With the date and the MG talk. Honestly, all three of us are fucking hopeless when it comes to this shit."

"Not me, I'm FULL of Hope. Get it?" Hope asks lamely as she chuckles softly at her stupid pun. 

Her question is met with a prolonged silence. "Hello?? P?" Hope frowns in confusion as she looks at her phone screen just in time to see Penelope hang up on her. 

“Asshole. That was a quality joke.” Hope murmurs to herself as she scrolls down her contact list, searching for MG’s name. Just as she’s about to hit his number, a text notification pops up at the top of her screen.

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** Just so you know, I wasn’t going to anymore but now, I'm currently lighting up solely due to the enormous amount of distress that came with that horrible pun.

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** 🖕🖕🖕

Hope grins gleefully as she types out a response.

 **FALALALA LEAVE ME ALONE 😤 :** love you too!! Have a nice night out w/ Josie! Try not to swoon too hard for her. 😚😚

A reply from Penelope comes almost instantly.

 **WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** I HOPE you don’t get laid tonight. 

**WHERE ARE THE TURTLES 🐢?? :** Now that was a good one. 😛😛

 **FALALALA LEAVE ME ALONE 😤 :** 🖕🖕🖕

\--------------------------------------

The rest of Josie's shift goes by with no other significant events occurring; no other potential Valentine's Day suitors stopping by with an offer to whisk her away on a surprise adventure. 

With only twenty minutes left until eight, Josie gets one of her co-workers to cover for her while she leaves early to get ready for her.... completely platonic friend's outing. 

(If she passes by the make-up department to pick up some new lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara, that's nobody's business but her own.) 

She silently thanks her lucky stars that she actually wore a cute outfit to work today and changes back into a cute black, semi-sheer blouse littered with tiny, golden stars and tight, dark blue jeans that she knows accentuates her curves in all the right places. 

After checking and re-checking and re-re-checking her make-up and outfit in the mirror, she looks to the clock and sees that she has a couple minutes to spare.

She ends up striking up a conversation with one of her co-workers in one of the most dull talks she's had in her life. (Seriously though, men droning on and on about micro-brewing pilsners in their garage should be some type of illegal.) 

As she intermittently glances at the clock as each minute ticks on by, something that feels awfully close to pre-first date jitters starts to make its appearance known at the bottom of her stomach. She frowns deeply as she tries her best to ignore it, focusing her efforts on listening intently on the many benefits of using yeast. 

It's just that Penelope made it explicitly clear that they were just friends. So why was she feeling this way? 

Setting up expectations like that just to be let down? That's a dumb move. And Josie Saltzman was not a dumb girl. (Or so she'd like to think so.) 

_Feelings are stupid. Expectations are bad. Stop getting your hopes up, Saltzman._ Josie repeats over and over in her head like a mantra, determined to drill it permanently in her brain. 

At five minutes past eight, (So what? Sue her, she didn't want to seem overeager to see her... friend again.), she manages to barely escape the torturous conversation and heads out the door to the waiting area. 

Penelope is already there patiently waiting and looking as gorgeous as ever, with clear, viridescent eyes seeming to literally sparkle under the obnoxiously bright fluorescent department store lights upon seeing Josie. 

Josie lifts up a hand awkwardly as she strolls over to Penelope, giving her a shy closed-mouth smile. Once the two meet, the raven-haired girl exhales dramatically as she gives Josie a quick once over. 

"You…. look great." Penelope manages to let out with a slow-spreading, giant grin threatening to split her face. 

“And you look like you did when I saw you like five hours ago.” Josie teases, motioning towards Penelope's black button-up and worn-out but obviously loved leather jacket. 

“Gee thanks Saltzman, you really know how to flatter a girl." Penelope shakes her head as she chuckles lightheartedly. 

"You know I'm kidding. You look great too." Josie replies with a shy smile. 

"Oh, I know. But thank you anyways." Josie rolls her eyes playfully and shakes her head in mock annoyance in response to Penelope's cocky grin. 

“Oh, these are for you.” Penelope says as she suddenly reveals a large bouquet of flowers that Josie didn't notice were hidden behind her back before. 

The kind gesture catches Josie off-guard and her eyebrows knit in puzzlement as she takes in the flowers. Upon further inspection, Josie realizes that the flowers are hydrangeas. AKA her favorite flower. AKA an intimate detail about her childhood that she’s shared with Penelope. AKA the flower that she has strong emotional attachment with. AKA a flower that really means something to her. 

When she looks up, the raven-haired girl is looking at her seemingly on edge, nervously wringing her hands together. 

Huh. Maybe those butterfly-like feelings did have a right being exactly where they were.

“Uhhhh….. This doesn’t seem very platonic, Pen. In fact, this feels awfully close to a date. And not a friendly one at that.” Josie frowns in confusion.

"No no no, not this bouquet. This one is special . See how all of them are blue except the pink one in the middle? " Penelope rambles on as a still-confused Josie nods in acknowledgement.

"Blue hydrangeas are a symbol for forgiveness and regret. Well I guess technically depending on which country, the meaning could change. But that’s like with any flower, to be honest. Not exclusively hydrangeas. Like in Medieval Europe, it could mean unrequited love.” she rambles on, voice subtly laced with nerves

Josie’s eyebrows shoot up instantly upon hearing, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. “I- You think-”

“But that’s not what I’m trying to say here!! It was just an example!” Penelope exclaims alarmingly. “There’s an old story from Japan about an emperor who would be away from his palace a lot. Whenever, he would return, he would bring back a bunch of hydrangeas for his maiden and her family in apology.” she attempts to quickly explain.

“So you’re the emperor and I’m your servant?” Josie frowns.

“I mean…. I guess in terms of this metaphor, yes?” Penelope grimaces.

"Right…." Josie trails on suspiciously as she eyes Penelope wearily and reluctantly accepts the flowers. 

"I was just trying to say that I apologize and regret how we started off. And that maybe we could start over?" Penelope questions hopefully as she frowns deeply and Josie feels like a complete dick for not just shutting up and just appreciating the nice gesture. She was just taken aback by thoughtfulness and spontaneity of it all. 

"I mean, if you don't want them, I could probably give them away or something. You don't have to keep-" Penelope starts again. 

"I'm kidding. They're quite lovely. Thank you. Sorry, I was just thrown off initially. I just feel bad that I didn't get you anything." Josie sheepishly smiles and softly laughs as she goes to sniff them. Penelope visibly exhales, clearly relieved at her positive response. 

"Don't worry about it. And anytime! Pretty flowers for a pretty girl." Penelope grins confidently. 

Josie shoots Penelope a warning look and Penelope raises both her hands up innocently in response. 

"What?? Friends can call their other friends pretty! It's not a crime.” Penelope insists and Josie shakes her head in mock disapproval.

"So friends then?" Penelope offers a hand out. 

"Friends." Josie agrees as she shakes it. 

"You know, that's the second time you've shaken my hand today. If you wanted to hold hands, all you had to do was ask. You're losing your touch again, Park." Josie jokingly teases as she pulls back. 

"I guess so. Or maybe you just do that to me." Penelope grins as she shrugs nonchalantly and Josie's heart skips a beat at that. 

_Feelings are stupid. Expectations are bad. Stop getting your hopes up, Saltzman._

“Anyways, shall we?" Penelope adds.

"We shall." Josie nods, trying to suppress a smile. 

"After you, my platonic Valentine's date." Penelope grins charmingly as she dramatically bows with her arm extended. 

“Why thank you, my good friend.” Josie grins playfully back as she starts to walk and the other girl joins her, both of them making their way together across the shiny, tiled floors.

“Soooo, how’d you manage to get these? They only bloom in spring and summer.” Josie asks curiously as she eyes the bouquet. 

“Ehhh, I know a guy.” Penelope replies as she hand gestures vaguely in the air. 

“Ahh, I see. And does this guy so happen to be the same one as your weed guy?"

“Nope, I have many guys.” Penelope knowingly grins and Josie can't tell whether she's joking or not. 

“Well, now that doesn’t sound suspicious _at all_.”

Penelope chuckles softly at that. “Just know that my drug guy and flower guy are two separate guys.”

“Do I want to know how many people you have?” Josie arches an eyebrow. 

“Do you want to keep yours thumbs?" The raven-haired girl counters.

“Hmm.” Josie says after rubbing her chin thoughtfully for a bit. “I think I’d like that very much.” 

“Then sorry Saltzman, that’s on a need-to-know-basis.” Penelope smiles that same stupid grin and again, Josie is unable to distinguish if it's the truth. 

“You know Park, you’re the number one person on my list of people I need to be cautious of.” Josie says as she tilts her head and narrows her eyes slightly. 

~~(In more ways than one, her heart whispers quietly.)~~

“Ehh, I don’t mind as long as I’m on top.” Penelope shrugs with ease as she winks suggestively and Josie instantly feels her face start to burn.

The shorter girl laughs in response and tilts her head towards the entrance. "Come on Jojo, we're almost there."

\------------------------------------------------------------

Hope knocks on the Saltzman's apartment door with a small but weak smile on her face. Even though she's lost track of the number of times she's done this over the past couple of weeks, she still gets nervous before seeing the blonde. 

The door opens with a workout-ready Lizzie, hair tied in a tight ponytail while wearing a white, loose-fitting tank top and a pair of black leggings. 

Hope's smile grows bigger and more confident upon seeing her, almost like Lizzie gives off a positive and welcoming kind-of energy. 

"Hey." Lizzie grins largely. 

"Hey yourself." Hope replies back with an equal grin to match. 

Hope steps inside and Lizzie moves forward to push the door closed. The two meet in the middle to give each other a brief greeting kiss before Hope suddenly pulls back. 

"Oh here, these are for you. Happy Valentine's Day, Elizabeth Saltzman." Hope grins cheekily as she pulls out a medium sized teddy bear with both arms forming a circle to hold a red heart that says "BE MINE?" from behind her back. Inside the bear's arm circle lies a dozen red roses. 

Lizzie's eyes widen in surprise. "Wow. That is unbelievably cliche of you, Hope Mikaelson."

"Sorry!! It's lame, I know! I could just throw it out the window and we could pretend it never happened!!" Hope exclaims as her face starts to turn a light shade of pink and she quickly makes her way towards the living room window. 

Lizzie laughs and shakes her head in disagreement while she reaches out to gently grab Hope. "No no, it's fine. I didn't mean it in a a bad way, I promise!!"

"You sure?" Hope asks, brows furrowed with doubt. 

"Yes, I'm sure. Don't tell anyone this because I will kill you if it gets out but……." Lizzie exhales exaggeratedly. 

"Uhhhh, yes?" Hope asks after the blonde stays quiet. 

"I'm…. I'm kind of…." Lizzie tries. 

"Kind of….?" Hope trails off. 

"……a hopeless romantic." Lizzie dramatically reveals with an upset frown. 

Hope is dumbfounded by this super obvious confession. With her best effort, she tries to hold in her laughter and almost succeeds, the only evidence of amusement shown through a crack of a small smile. 

"I- I- uhhhh…… I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this babe, but that's kind of common knowledge." Hope says after a couple seconds of silence. 

"It is not!!" Lizzie pouts as she crosses her arms tightly across her chest. 

"Uhhhhh, okay, sure. Even if it isn't, there's nothing wrong with that." Hope shrugs. 

"Yeah there is! I should be a strong, independent woman who doesn't need to rely on others for some sense of being desired or wanted to feel good!" Lizzie exclaims with a frown, throwing her arms out for dramatic effect. 

"Hey, there's nothing wrong for wanting to be cared for. You already know you're awesome right?"

"Yeah, obviously." Lizzie shrugs nonchalantly. 

"Then me giving you bears or flowers or kisses is just supplemental. Your worth isn't defined by it because it doesn't change how amazing you are as a person." Hope says softly with a warm smile as she lightly squeezes Lizzie's arm. 

Lizzie stares at Hope for a couple beats before exhaling deeply. "You're totally right. Where the fuck have you been my entire life?"

Hope chuckles softly before shrugging with a "Searching for you, I guess."

"I guess making you watch all those rom-coms with me prepared you well huh?" Lizzie laughs as she shakes her head in mock disapproval. 

"Maybe… So let's try this again?" Hope asks as she dramatically gets down on one knee.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Elizabeth Saltzman! Will you please be my date for tonight?" Hope grins cheesily as she offers the bear and flowers forwards. 

"Of course I will, Hope Mikaelson." Lizzie grins back as she pulls the redhead up forcefully and kisses her with seemingly unbridled passion. 

The two make out for a bit before Lizzie pulls back suddenly. "Shit, we should go soon." she frowns as she takes a couple steps away from Hope. 

"Are you sure about that?" Hope inquires as she approaches her slowly, her voice dropping an octave lower than normal and it makes Lizzie go instantly weak at the knees. 

"...Uhhhh….No… I mean….yes?" Lizzie tries weakly as her eyes drop down to Hope's lips forming a small smirk. 

Hope chuckles knowingly but her plans are suddenly thwarted when Lizzie suddenly sees a flash of red from the roses and shakes her head rapidly, realizing their Valentine's date was in grave danger of being cancelled for an alternative of staying in her room all night. 

"I'm on to you! You're dangerous, Mikaelson." Lizzie narrows her eyes suspiciously as she steps forward to grab the bear and flowers, turning and walking away quickly to avoid being tempted further. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Saltzman." Hope grins playfully while shrugging and feigning innocence. 

Lizzie goes to the kitchen island to throw away the irises from the hospital, dumping the old water in the sink and rinsing the glass vase clean. 

"You know, you're my first Valentine's ever?" Lizzie says as she takes the roses out of the bear's hold and starts to work on freeing the flowers from their wrappings. 

"Really?" Hope asks in disbelief as she goes to grab the glass vase and brings it to the sink to fill it with water. 

"Yup! Unless you could Jordan Kane in the first grade during recess. But then, he peed himself later on in the day so he had to get sent home. We didn't even make it 'til lunch." Lizzie frowns in remembrance as she goes to throw away the wrappings. 

Hope laughs softly and replies with a "Well, I'm honored."

"You're also the first person who's bought me flowers. Excluding prom and homecoming askings. But I don't really count those 'cause that's kind of a given." Lizzie says as she receives the vase from Hope and puts in on the kitchen island.

"Well, I don't believe that for a single second. How you haven't been showered with flowers all the time is beyond me. You definitely deserve them if you ask me." Hope shrugs as Lizzie places the flowers in the vase. 

The blonde then pushes the vase back to its original place in the middle of the kitchen island and spontaneously turns around.

"You know, I plan on keeping you around for a very long time." Lizzie says as she wraps her arms around Hope's neck, pulling her in closer. 

"What a coincidence, so am I." Hope mumbles quietly as she leans in slowly. 

"NO! NO! DANGEROUS!!" Lizzie screams out as she backs up and points an accusatory finger at Hope; the other girl just laughing loudly in response. 

"Here. Put this on." Lizzie smiles excitedly as she turns around and pulls a bandanna out from a random drawer in the kitchen. 

"Oh wow, okay. Starting off strong I see, with that kinky shit. I approve." Hope chuckles in amusement as she grabs the blindfold. 

"That's not what it's for!" Lizzie gently slaps her shoulder as she rolls her eyes in mock annoyance. 

"For now." Hope grins playfully as she waggles her eyebrows.

"If you play your cards right Mikaelson, then yes, just for now." Lizzie states lowly as she grins mischievously, deciding to suddenly play along. 

"I-" Hope's jaw drops as she loses all her thought processes and the taller girl just shakes her head and chuckles softly in response. 

"Need help?" The blonde offers and Hope just nods and hands the piece of cloth over, unable to verbally articulate any words. 

"Can you at least give me a hint what we're doing?" Hope asks when her vision is suddenly obscured. 

"We're just gonna stop by somewhere for a little bit and then we'll come back here for dinner!!" Lizzie says excitedly.

"Any hints to the somewhere?"

"Nope!" Lizzie exclaims while finishing off the tie and stepping in front of the other girl to view her handiwork. 

Hope adorably pouts and crosses her arms tightly in protest. Lizzie snickers a little because it reminds her of a child waiting in line for a piñata or something and it's absolutely endearing. 

"Fine. We're gonna burn off some calories before we eat." Lizzie eventually caves. 

"Yeah, I got that much." Hope snorts.

"Well, that's all the hints I'm giving!! Cause I chose a totally unique and exciting activity for a Valentine's date that you'll never guess in a million years so there's no point!!"

"Okay, okay. Guess I'll just wait and see." Hope concedes defeat as she lifts up both hands in surrender. 

"Good."

"So after this mystery place, we'll stop by the restaurant and pick stuff up and then eat back here?" Hope inquires. 

"Huh? What restaurant?" Lizzie replies, confusion apparent in her tone. 

"I dunno, didn't you choose one?"

"No, I was going to cook something."

A huge silence fills the room, with Hope waiting for Lizzie to add something to that statement. 

"That's a joke, right?" Hope questions after a long pause in the conversation. 

"Excuse me, I'll have you know that my cooking skills have great improved!" Lizzie pouts defensively. 

"Since last week?" Hope questions as she lifts a single eyebrow in amusement. 

"Yes since last week!! I'm just following a recipe, anyone with a working brain can do it!" Lizzie cries out exasperatedly. 

Hope goes to push the blindfold above her eyes and holds both of Lizzie's hands in hers. 

"Look Lizzie, I adore you. I really do. You have so many skills to offer to the world." Hope smiles softly and Lizzie smiles back appreciatively. 

"But cooking is not one of them. Like at all!" The shorter girl cries out desperately. 

"But it could be!!" Lizzie defends herself as her smile drops and she quickly removes her hands from Hope's in betrayal. 

"That is true, it could be!! But not when you do things like making instant noodles without water in the microwave or setting the popcorn microwave timer to 30 minutes instead of 3!" Hope grimaces as she remembers how difficult it was to turn off the smoke alarm both times. 

"Okay, that's not fair! You know I was distracted both times!" Lizzie frowns.

"Okay, by what?" Hope asks, eyebrow raised in half doubt-half amusement.

"You!!!!! You and your tendency to wear minimal clothing whenever we're alone!" Lizzie groans out.

Hope chortles at Lizzie’s frustration as a shit-eating grin covers her face. "That's fair, I guess." she shrugs.

Lizzie lets out a deep sigh and stares down at the ground while she wraps her arms around herself. "I just want to do something nice for my…....Valentine's date. An unexpected dinner with my surprise improved cooking skills."

"I’m sorry Lizzie, I didn't mean to ruin it. I didn't know how much you were looking forward to cooking for me." Hope frowns apologetically.

"It's okay! And don't worry, it's not ruined yet! You don't know what I'm making!" Lizzie grins.

"That's true. Okay, now I'm really looking forward to try your master chef-made dish." Hope smiles encouragingly.

"Good, good. Okay, we should probably start now. So...." Lizzie makes a hand motion of pulling down a blindfold over her eyes.

"Oh, right." Hope nods as she moves the bandanna back down over her eyes.

"Sooo, is this the part where you get the whip?" The redhead grins cheekily.

"Ouch, Lizzie! It was just a joke. No need to be aggressive!!" Hope pouts as she rubs her arm in comfort from the stinging that came with Lizzie's slap.

"Sorry!” Lizzie winces sympathetically. “It's just that I told them I'd be arriving within the hour and your distractions are making that _REALLY_ hard right now. But save that energy for later, babe! Ready?" 

"Sure. Lead the way." Hope shrugs.

"I'm kinda touched you trust me so much." Lizzie smiles as she steps behind Hope and puts her hands on the shorter girl's shoulders.

"Of course I do. You're my……" Hope trails off, still quite confused on what they really are.

"Your…..?" Lizzie asks curiously.

"Trusty companion." Hope settles on and internally grimaces at her answer. 

_Trusty companion?? What is she, a dog or something??_ she silently berates herself.

"Was that a Doctor Who reference?" Lizzie gasps audibly. 

"Uhhhhh, yes?" Hope tries weakly before baring her teeth in a forced smile.

"Yup, definitely keep that blindfold for later." Lizzie whispers seductively into Hope's ear and a shiver rapidly runs down the redhead's spine, resulting in her turning beet-red in only a matter of seconds.

\----------------------------------------------------------

The two dark-haired girls manage to weave their way out of the department store and through the crowd of people shopping for last minute Valentine's Day gifts, stepping into the crisp evening air with the noises of busy footsteps and everyday sounds of city nightlife hitting their eardrums almost instantly. 

"This way." Penelope directs as she tilts her head towards the right direction and Josie nods in understanding.

“Soooo, is anyone joining us on this platonic friend’s outing?” Josie asks as their footsteps join in sync with one another.

“Nope, just us two. Hope is with your sister and MG is with his nerdy counterpart…. What's his name again? Dandon? Brandon? Ehh, whatever." Penelope shrugs, feigning forgetfulness. 

“Wow, they finally got it together and they’re on a date?” Josie gasps in shock. 

“Uhhhh, no. I fucking wish! MG is still pining _hard_ for your friend. I don't know how much more I can take of him finding different ways to call Landon dreamy. If I hear him being compared to Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones circa 1980 but an Iranian version of him _ONE_ more time, I swear I’m gonna fucking lose it." Penelope frowns deeply as Josie cracks up at her misfortune.

"Anyways, he called it a bro/dude hangout with homemade pizza making, a Star Wars marathon, and pie-baking.” she adds on.

“A friendly hangout? That sounds like a date. A casual one but a date none-the-less.” Josie shakes her head incredulously as they make their way down to the less crowded part of the street. 

“Right?? Fucking idiots, how can they not see that they actually really like each other?? Spending quality time like that on Valentine's Day? Oblivious much?” Penelope questions as she slowly shakes her head in disapproval.

“Totally.” Josie nods in agreement. 

“This way.” Penelope says as she abruptly makes a right and starts to lead Josie down a secluded, dimly-lit alley and Josie stops dead in her tracks. The shorter girl notices her halted movements and goes to turn around with an eyebrow quirked in curiosity. 

"Are you a serial killer? I know I teased you a lot and we don’t exactly have the best history but this is a bit of an over-reaction." Josie whispers fearfully, her face starting to rapidly lose color and blanch. 

"What?? Nooo!! My ride is just parked here. Don't worry, I totally left my torture supplies at home tonight." Penelope replies with a joking smile as Josie's frowns seems to deepen further. 

Penelope lets out a small sigh and takes a couple steps toward the other girl. "Come on, have a little faith in me, Saltzman!" Penelope chuckles as she grabs Josie's free hand and eagerly pulls it, resulting in Josie reluctantly trailing behind. 

"I always knew you were bad news. If anything happens to me, just know that Lizzie is gonna hunt you the fuck down." Josie mumbles as Penelope drags her down the alley, grip getting tighter with each step. 

"I'd like to see her try." Penelope chuckles in response. 

The two walk together in silence for a couple seconds until the raven-haired girl can’t take in anymore."Owww, owwww, ouch. Okay, okay, I get it. You don't have to squeeze so tight, Jojo! I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise. Cross my heart, hope to die and everything." Penelope winces in pain as she makes a X hand motion over her heart with her free hand.

It seems as though Josie either doesn't listen to or care about a single word Penelope has said because she just goes on to continue holding Penelope's hand in an iron grip. "Jesus! So in the name of our newly found truce, I got you a beautiful bouquet of flowers and you gave me....let's see..... a _HUGE_ loss in blood circulation!!" Penelope yells out dramatically. 

"Hey, what are friends for?" Josie jokes dryly. 

"Alrighty, here she is. You can let go now. Please." Penelope states as they stop in front of an exceptionally shiny, black BMW K1 motorcycle in nearly perfect condition.

Josie immediately lets go of Penelope's hand and it's a bittersweet moment for the shorter girl. On one hand, it was nice to have sensation and feeling again on her right hand. On the other, she suddenly feels as if something is missing; something that she didn't know she wanted before but now that she's had it and it's gone, she really wants it back. 

(However, Penelope just chalks it up to her hands being cold and Josie just being available to warm them up and moves on.)

Josie's jaw drops and her eyes bulge out of her head comically upon seeing the two-wheeler. "T-this is your b-bike?" she stutters out.

"Mmm, well considering I have the keys and it's registered under my name, I'm gonna go with a yes." Penelope grins proudly as she lifts a black helmet off of the seat. 

Josie internally lets out a humongous sigh. Because of course Penelope Park would own a super sleek and shiny black BMW motorcycle. Of course she would look in her element, wearing a faded, worn-out leather jacket while putting her helmet on, bold, green eyes seeming to glow and shimmer from the inside of the eye slit. Of course she would exude extreme bad girl, kick-ass energy, looking hot as fuck while straddling her motorbike. 

(In this moment, Josie's mouth suddenly goes bone dry and her head completely empties as she kinda wishes Penelope was straddling something else. Or someone else.)

Josie shakes her head of inappropriate thoughts of her _friend_ and turns her attention back to the bike, biting her lower lip worriedly. 

"You okay, Jojo?" Penelope asks disconcertingly after hopping off the bike and pulling her helmet off, sensing a great deal of hesitation coming from the taller girl. 

"Uhhh…. yes?" Josie tries weakly. 

Penelope exhales deeply, placing her helmet back on the seat. "That wasn’t even the least bit of convincing." she states as she shakes her head in disapproval and steps towards Josie, stopping just a short distance from her. 

"Shit, this is my fault. I'm really sorry I didn't ask beforehand if you were okay with it. Totally understandable if you're uncomfortable with it. I just wanted to avoid Valentine's Day/regular LA/ Friday night traffic, so I wasn't really thinking about it clearly.” Penelope frowns in regret.

“Oh, and I totally forgot. Sorry, I'm kind of excited right now." She adds on as she grins sheepishly.

She moves to the back of the motorcycle and opens the box-like compartment, going to show a spare motorcycle jacket and a dark blue helmet and placing them back down a few seconds later.

"These are for you. The jacket should definitely fit and we can put the flowers in here if you want. Actually, strongly recommended if you want them to stay intact. This baby goes pretty fast." Penelope chuckles softly to herself as she pats the back of the bike affectionately.

Josie just stands there, still staring at the bike wearily with her bottom lip stuck between two rows of teeth, unsure of what to do and Penelope understands completely, going to move towards the other girl comfortingly. 

"We can just Uber or Lyft there or something, it's not a big deal.” Penelope vocalizes with a reassuring smile.

Josie seems to contemplate this idea for a while until the other girl speaks up again.

“Orrrrr I can ask one of my car guys, Pedro, to drop one of the Benz's off and we can just wait for him. Up to you." Penelope shrugs nonchalantly. 

"Wait, now hold on a sec. Benz's as in more than one?! And you have a car guy too?!" Josie yells out incredulously.

"Wait no, sorry, we can't call him." Penelope shakes her head.

"So you we're joking-" Josie starts.

"We had to let him go last week for scratching one of the lambos. Let me just think about who's available right now." Penelope ponders as she scratches the back of her head. 

"I- _who are you_???" Josie questions exasperatedly with a frown.

"Well, my name is Penelope Park and I’m a student-" the raven-haired girl says as she gives a smug look. 

"You know what I mean." Josie scoffs as she crosses her arms against her chest. 

"I do.” Penelope grins with a slight head nod. 

"I'm the type of person who is attempting to make you, ~~a girl I could potentially have feelings for~~ my friend, feel better right now." Penelope states, taking a small pause to slightly upturn the corner of her mouth and do a small head tilt.

“I’m also a person who likes jokes. I only own one car and I don't have a car guy, unless you count my mechanic." she chuckles deeply before continuing on. "You just seemed kind of tense, so I was just joking around to make you feel better. Or at the very least, distract you. I’ve kindaa noticed that you tend to do that when you get annoyed with me." Penelope shrugs knowingly. 

"Oh." is all Josie says as she realizes that Penelope is indeed correct, feeling less nervous and tense than before, shoulders dropping subtly throughout the duration of their conversation. 

"Thanks." Josie says before smiling a weak, close-mouthed mouth smile. 

Penelope briefly stares at Josie before shoving her hands in her back pockets and deciding to break the silence. 

"You ever been on a motorcycle, Josie?" Penelope asks, one eyebrow raised in curiosity as Josie shakes her head vigorously with a furrow of her brows.

"Ahhh, okay. I get it now. I understand the fear and hesitation you're probably currently feeling. It's totally normal, regardless if you've done it before or not." Penelope nods reassuringly. 

"It's okay to say no Josie. I promise I won't judge you or tease you for it. And don't worry, I'm sure my ego is strong enough to handle your rejection." Penelope jokes as she puts a single hand over her chest. 

Josie cracks a smile at that but makes no further moves to take the gear. However, she also doesn't really object, using her time to weigh her options mentally. All the while, Penelope just stands there patiently, not making any indications that she'd rather be anywhere else than waiting for Josie to make a quick decision and the taller girl is very grateful for it. 

"Can I think about it for a second?" Josie asks reluctantly. 

"Of course, take your time." Penelope nods. 

Josie smiles gratefully and the two just stand there for a bit, the only sounds of a leaky water pipe dripping in the distance and the buzzing of electricity flowing through loose wires filling the air. Josie's eyes wander around and eventually land on the bouquet she completely forgot she was holding. 

"You never told me what the pink one was." she says abruptly. 

"Huh? What pink one?" Penelope questions, brows furrowed together in confusion. 

"The one in the middle." Josie replies as she offers the bouquet to the raven-haired girl. 

"Oh, my bad." Penelope smiles sheepishly as she accepts the bouquet, looking at the flowers adoringly. 

Josie thinks the stark contrast of Penelope holding the flowers so delicately while standing next to her bad-ass motorcycle is kind of funny and makes the bike (as well as the girl) look a lot less intimidating than before. 

"It means strong emotion. Something that means a great deal." Penelope mumbles distantly as she gazes down at the flower and her fingers gently dance around the pink petals. 

Something about her tone stirs something in Josie and that feeling in her stomach starts to make its presence known again by pulsing slightly. 

Suddenly, Penelope seems to snap out of the trance she's in and she looks up at Josie, eyes wide. "I just threw it in there to signify that I'm serious about wanting to be friends." she blurts out spontaneously. 

Oh, and there's that word again, _friends_. 

And just as quickly as it came, the pulsing sensation dies almost instantly. "Oh, cool." Josie mutters disappointedly. 

_Feelings are stupid. Expectations are bad. Stop getting your hopes up, Saltzman._

"Also, some people say that upside down, it kind of looks like a beating heart. I thought that you'd appreciate that, with it being Valentine's Day and everything." Penelope smiles softly as she gently caresses the bulb of the flower, being careful not to ruin it.

(If Josie had paid attention or looked closely enough, she maybe could have recognized the resemblance between the pink hydrangea she was given and Penelope's unintentional, underlying message. But she doesn't. Not right now, anyways.) 

"How do you know so much about flowers?" Josie asks curiously, eyes shifting between the bouquet and Penelope's fond facial expression.

"I read about them in books." Penelope answers after a couple beats, going to close the compartment and putting the bouquet on top of it. 

"You read books?" Josie questions incredulously. 

"Yes Josie, I read." Penelope scoffs as she crosses her arms and rolls her eyes in mock irritation. "Believe it or not, I read _a lot_ actually. And I've definitely told you that before." 

"Yeah, but I just thought it was like comics or Harry Potter or your Twitter feed." Josie grins sheepishly. 

"Okayyyy, you're not wrong. I do read comics MG recommends to me that are focused on woman superheroes who _AREN'T_ horribly over-sexualized due to the disgusting male gaze. And well, Harry Potter has a great deal of nostalgia for me."

"Oooh, can I guess what your house is?" Josie asks excitedly. 

"Only if I can guess yours." Penelope replies with a small smile and Josie nods in approval. 

"But if you say Slytherin….." Penelope warns with narrowed eyes. 

"There's nothing wrong with being a Slytherin!!" Josie protests loudly. 

"I didn't say there was! It's just that why does everyone always give that answer?" Penelope pouts in annoyance. 

"I wasn't going to say that." Josie frowns. 

"Oh really now?" Penelope asks, eyebrow quirked with doubt. 

"Okay, well, kind of. I can definitely see why people say it. The arrogance, being cunning, witty, mysterious, coming off as evil." Josie lists off. 

"I- Wow, okay, thanks for that." Penelope says, voice dripping in sarcasm.

"But I was also going to say Ravenclaw because I feel like you're smart and you love to read and you have that thirst for knowledge that they usually have. But you could also be Hufflepuff cause you're low-key a softie who loves flowers and are defensive about the people you care about. But you could also be Gryffindor because you're very politically conscious and you fight for what's right and you stand for what you believe in. Which includes fighting rude customers." Josie chuckles softly. 

"You don't seem like you're scared of much." The taller girl notes as she shrugs nonchalantly. 

(Penelope secretly finds that last sentence extremely ironic, coming from _Josie_ out of all people.) 

"Huh. That's new. No one's really said things like that before." Penelope mumbles as she curiously eyes at Josie.

"I mean, you gotta look past the surface a bit. You're so much more than being charming and this bad-girl persona you put on."

"Oh? You think I'm charming, Saltzman?" Penelope grins cockily. 

Josie blinks at Penelope for a couple of seconds with a deadpan expression before speaking up again. "Alright, scratch that whole thing. You're definitely a Slytherin." Josie shakes her head as she rolls her eyes and Penelope just laughs in response. 

"Sooo, what about me?" The taller girl questions.

"Easy. Everyone thinks you're Hufflepuff but you're definitely a Slytherin." Penelope shrugs.

"What?!" Josie objects loudly. 

Penelope scoffs dramatically. "What happened to 'Oh, there's nothing wrong with being a Slytherin!!' " she jokes in a mocking, high-pitched voice.

"There isn't! It's just that I'm totally a Gryffindor." Josie pouts as she stubbornly crosses her arms in protest. 

"Oh please, everyone and their mom thinks they're a Gryffindor when they're really not." Penelope eye-rolls. "Just cause the golden trio is in Gryffindor, everyone wants to be one. There's only a handful of people I know that I can truly say are." she adds.

"And I'm one of them." Josie insists in a matter-of-factly way.

Penelope laughs loudly and Josie's nose suddenly flares in slight anger. "Courage? Josie, 5 minutes ago, my arm was on the verge of being eligible to be amputated from loss of circulation. And right now, we're talking about flowers and books in a dimly lit alley and cutting it close to our reservation time because you're scared about getting on a motorcycle." Penelope grins as she shakes her head in disbelief, face covered in amusement. 

"Wait, reservation? Why didn't you say something??" Josie shouts out.

"Cause I didn't want to pressure you! I was trying to be nice!!" Penelope yells back. 

"You're such a Hufflepuff." Josie scoffs as she shakes her head. 

"And you're such a not-Gryffindor." Penelope teases while Josie pouts in dissent.

Penelope sighs. "Look, I was being serious about taking a car. You don't have to do this to prove anything to anyone. And I'm not gonna drive us on this thing if I don't believe you actually want to. So what's it going to be, car or bike?" Penelope finally asks directly and Josie is forced to contemplate her decision.

Fuck. This was a bad idea right? Statistically speaking, motorcycles were extremely unsafe. Lots of people die or get severely injured from them. What if she fell off? What if a car hits them? Also, for all she knew, Penelope could be a horrible driver. Penelope could be the worst driver in the world and she probably wouldn't know until it's too late. 

But on the other hand, what if she never gets this opportunity again? What if she never gets the chance to hop on the back of a hot girl's motorcycle and ride down the streets of LA, taking in the cool breeze and rushing lights passing them by as they ride off into the night? None-the-less on Valentine's Day? Carpe Diem, right?

(Also, she was totally a Gryffindor but that was besides that point!!) 

Josie doesn't know if she can trust Penelope to take her on this night adventure, but the way her deep green eyes seem to twinkle with _something_ under the glow of the dim alley light makes her want to. And God, does she really want to. 

"I'm game. Let's go." Josie eventually declares as she head nods confidently towards the two-wheeler and the intense look of approval and beaming smile she receives in response ends up making her multitudes more nervous than what the bike has ever made her feel, her body silently buzzing in anticipation of what's to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's a fun drinking game?? Take a shot everytime Penelope or Josie says the words just, friend, pal, buddy, or platonic throughout the entirety of Valentine's Day.
> 
> I got some tricks rolled up my sleeves these next couple of chapters for their little PLATONIC date night as well as more Hizzie moments, so get ready for that!! :)) 
> 
> Next week, we'll start up again with the weekly medium sized chapters. lol 😁🙊
> 
> Have a great week y'all! 
> 
> Chapter title from The Night Out (Album Version) by Martin Solveig
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments below! 
> 
> Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru


	10. i gotta feeling that we got a chemistry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA penelope takes josie out to dinner and they make some new friends while lizzie takes hope to her surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'll update weekly! See y'all next week! :))  
> Life with its twists and turns: lmaoo u thought u dumb biotch!!
> 
> Heeey, I'm so so sorry that it's been a while!! Hopefully these 9.5k words start to make up for it? Anyways, I’ll explain what's going on at the end if anyone wants to read.
> 
> Quick note: I updated the tags sooo please take a peek at them. Thanks! 
> 
> Side note: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME HIT 500 KUDOS!! AMAZING, TRULY! 🙏🙏
> 
> Another side note: If you want to get some vibes for the beginning of the chapter, please listen to the song The Night Out (Single/Album Version) by Martin Solveig. It’s where the title of the last chapter came from and it's also what I imagine is playing during their motorcycle ride if this was a movie scene or somethin'.
> 
> Bonus side note: I hope that this finds you well and that you're safe and healthy, especially during this time with the virus spreading. Please frequently wash your hands and use hand sanitizer!! Also, this is a reminder to drink lots of water and get enough sleep! Please take care of yourselves!!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this update! :)

After a test drive through several alleyways (Penelope wanted to make sure Josie was actually comfortable with the situation first), the pair quickly sped off to their first surprise destination. 

In the beginning, Josie was hesitant to hold on to the other girl more than the bare minimum. 

She soon discovered that plan wasn't a viable option once they left the alley, Penelope's sharp turn onto the surface street resulting in Josie screaming her head off and scrambling to squeeze Penelope's midriff tightly. 

"You okay?" The raven-haired girl shouts over the engine a few seconds later, slightly turning her head while continuing to keep her eyes on the road. 

“Uhhh….. yeah, I think so?” Josie replies unsurely, instantly thinking she is being a nuisance and goes to loosen her hold on the other girl. Penelope shakes her head in disapproval and puts one gloved hand over Josie’s left arm, pulling it more firmly around her abdomen and Josie is grateful for the reassurance. 

The two quickly zoom down the streets of LA, the wind whipping furiously around them as they take on the sea of traffic consisting of the Friday night/Valentine’s Day crowd. The adrenaline and feelings of excitement give Josie a rush of endorphins that makes her heart pump and soar as the city lights and temporary faces become a bunch of colorful, blurry hazes around them. 

Josie will always remember being fully content and just feeling so _alive_ and _free_ in this moment.

After a few minutes, Josie subconsciously places the side of her head in between Penelope’s shoulder blades and closes her eyes, attempting to take it all in.

She can hear the sound of the bike’s engine revving, inharmonious sirens, a distant car blasting music from time to time. She can smell hints of Penelope’s floral perfume, the pungent smell of gasoline, delicious-smelling food from restaurants they quickly pass. 

She can feel her heart drumming rapidly against her chest and the slow expansion and reduction of her lungs with each deep breath she takes. She can feel the strong, occasional flex of muscles through the thin material of Penelope’s button-up whenever the raven-haired girl shifts, via her hands that meet at the front opening of Penelope’s jacket.

(Josie was starting to seriously reconsider her disapproval of motorcycles and labelling them as death machines. But only if Penelope Park was the one driving them. Because she’s a safe and trusty driver. It’s NOT because Josie enjoys the very close proximity of the other girl a little too much. Obviously.) 

To Josie’s displeasure, Penelope eventually parks the bike near a nice area in front of a valet station, hopping off first so that she can help Josie unboard. 

They both take their helmets and jackets off, placing them on the seat of the bike. "All yours, boys!" Penelope yells as she head motions to the valet workers and grins knowingly at their impressed expressions. One worker quickly walks up to her to hand her a claim ticket.

“Take good care of her, Matt.” She nods, patting the handlebars of the bike adoringly after reading the guy’s nametag. 

“Nah, Matt doesn’t deserve to take this bike. Lemme do it!” Another worker yells as she jogs over to the bike and Penelope moves to stand aside with an amused smile.

“No way, you got to do that sick ride earlier. I got it.” Matt insists. 

Josie watches on a small distance away, knowing it’s silly but is silently proud that she rolled up with the woman of the hour. 

“Well, if I knew this bike would be coming, i-” the girl starts.

“Come on Jojo, let’s go.” Penelope laughs as she head motions towards the building.

The two make their way over to the bottom of a small set of steps leading up to a beautifully decorated building, with strong influences of Japanese architecture within its wooden beams and trapezoid shaped roofs. 

"Wait. Wait a second. You wanna tell me where we are?" Josie asks as she stops and jaw drops in amazement at the large, intricately crafted building in front of them, mildly confused at where they ended up. 

“Hollywood.” The shorter girl shrugs nonchalantly as she stuffs her hands into her leather jacket.

“You know what I mean, Pen.” Josie says as she narrows her eyes playfully at Penelope and she chuckles lightly in return. 

"Fine, fine. It's a Japanese restaurant called Yamashiro. I thought you'd appreciate it since you probably know a lot about the culture, considering it’s your minor and everything.” she grins.

“And don't worry, I checked the menu beforehand. There's lots of options without seaweed so you don't have to worry about your allergy! They sounded pretty good on Yelp too so yeah… " Penelope rambles on as she fiddles with the rings on her left hand. 

Josie is shocked that Penelope remembered such small, intimate details that she briefly mentioned in passing in what seems like ages ago; also, bonus points that she was still able to recall while being told in a weed-induced haze. 

"You remembered." Josie mutters softly, surprise apparent on her face. 

"Of course I did. Why are you surprised? You think I would forget things that significant?" Penelope frowns in confusion. 

"I guess not. It’s nothing.” Josie says as she shakes her head and tries to convince herself of her own words. “We were just high so I’m just impressed by your memory, I guess." she shrugs as she continues on walking. 

“I might have been high but I still remember everything about that night, Josie.” Penelope replies cooly, sincerity underlying her tone as she follows a couple paces behind.

"That’s good to know. Wait, what did you say the name of this place was again?" Josie asks as they both make their way up the steps, trying to move away from anything remotely sentimental.

"Yamashiro. Why? Have you heard of it?" Penelope questions curiously.

Josie's eyes bug out and her jaw drops in shock as she stops midway up the stairs and Penelope follows suit, stopping only a couple steps lower. "Are you kidding me? Of course I’ve heard of it!” she scoffs. “This is like one of the most exclusive restaurants in LA! Lizzie and I have tried getting a table here for forever but we could never manage to get a reservation."

“Well, that’s probably because you didn’t know someone like me.” Penelope grins cockily and Josie rolls her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Anyways, I'm really glad you approve my restaurant choice. I knew we both had impeccable taste. Now come on, I'm starving." Penelope points her thumb to the building as she starts to make her way up the rest of the stairs. 

"No, but seriously, how did you manage to get a table?" Josie whispers as Penelope opens the huge wooden door for her.

“Maybe I’ll tell you after we check in.” Penelope tells Josie as she passes by her and through the door, the raven-haired girl following inside afterwards.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“Ta-dah!” Lizzie shouts as she pulls the blindfold off of Hope’s face.

“Ohhhhhh, wooooow!” Hope exclaims as she does a 360 and slowly takes in all her surroundings.

“Sooo, what do you think?” Lizzie beams proudly as she scrutinizes Hope’s face.

Well, if Hope were being truly honest, this place definitely breaks her top 3 list of “Most Sketchy Places I’ve ever been to.” Which is really saying something because she grew up in New Orleans. And also, her dad is known to have been involved in a handful not-exactly legal enterprises, which she only found out about by following her dad. Hence the other two places on the list.

The location they’re currently at seems like it was straight-up pulled from a horror/thriller film. All they need is a supernatural creature and a thin layer of opaque fog and they are good to go. 

They seem to be surrounded by a bunch of warehouses in the middle of nowhere. Every single building that she can see is unmarked and undistinguishable by one another. Which really isn’t saying much considering they are in an area with the literal definition of minimal lighting. There also isn’t a single person in sight and Hope can’t even identify a single plausible exit.

Hope’s eyebrows furrow in half-confusion, half-concentration as she tries to come up with something to say that won’t disappoint Lizzie. But she finds that it’s kind of hard to do when the blonde is currently staring at her like if she were to look away, Hope would disappear instantly, right in front of her eyes. 

And honestly, maybe she would? There seems to be a long white van without license plates parked close by with the windows tinted, Hope notes. 

Yup, if Hope had some sort of Spidey-Senses, they would be going off like a 4 Alarm Fire right now.

“Wow Lizzie. It’s…...really something!” Hope eventually lands on as her survival instincts kick in, eyes constantly scanning their area for imminent threats.

Lizzie pouts and crosses her arms tightly against her chest as she stomps loudly on the ground. “Hoooope! Everything is something!” 

“Okay, okay, fine. It’s really great, Lizzie! Thank you so much for this surprise!” Hope squeaks out in a high pitched voice, plastering on an unnaturally large grin. 

“Just so you know, regardless of what you ask for, I’m getting you paid acting classes for Christmas. You’re absolutely horrible.” 

“Okay, well it’s not my fault! How else am I supposed to react when you take me to a set of abandoned warehouses at night??” Hope asks exasperatedly. 

Lizzies scoffs, clearly offended by the question. “They’re not abandoned warehouses!”

Hope crosses her arms together and raises her eyebrows in disbelief. “Really?”

“Well, at least not all of them are! To be honest, I don’t really know this area _THAT_ well. But what happened to you trusting me??” the blonde frowns, faking disappointment.

Hope narrows her eyes at the taller girl. “That was slightly revoked when you let the lobby door hit my face while I was blindfolded.”

“Hey, that wasn’t all my fault! My phone dropped on the ground and I had to make sure it was okay!” Lizzie defends her actions. 

“Mhmm. Right after opening the door?”

“It only dropped because I opened the door! It was only a light head tap, really.” the blonde insists. 

“Okay, and what about when I hit my head getting into your car?” Hope inquires as she moves to place her hands on her hips.

Lizzie attempts to suppress a laugh by biting down on her lower lip but ultimately fails, bursting out into a bout of laughter. “Okay, that was totally different. That was just me underestimating your height. I'm really sorry about that.”

Hope doesn't respond and instead chooses to narrow her eyes again at Lizzie.“What? I said I was sorry before too!” she exclaims loudly. 

“I’m not that short!” Hope exclaims back. 

“Well, I know that now! Is it really my fault that I see you as being super small and cuddly?” Lizzie grins and Hope blushes in response. 

“Yes. Now as an apology, can you maybe tell me where we are?” Hope asks as she sees a hulking, bald man exit one of the warehouse doors. He starts to make his way towards them while Hope rises in internal panic exponentially and Lizzie seems to be blissfully unaware of the abnormally muscular man approaching from behind her.

Lizzie nods and starts to open her mouth, ready with an explanation when Hope suddenly cuts her off. “Or you know what? Let’s forget that. How about you just toss me the car keys and we’ll call it even?” Hope blurts out nervously with widened eyes as he gets closer and closer to the pair, Lizzie still oblivious to the situation.

"What? We just got here. Why would I want to-" the blonde’s face covered in puzzlement.

"HEY! What are you doing out here on my property?!" The man booms in a deep, stern voice. 

Lizzie jumps up high and quickly spins around, clearly startled by the sudden noise. "Ohhhh…. helloooooo! We just. Uhhhh…. We're just here because we wanted to just walk around. And also look at the moon. It’s kinda nice out here without any pollution." Lizzie says awkwardly, staring at the ground. 

“Or anything in general.” Hope mutters under her breath.

"Oh? Is that true?" the man asks as he turns to Hope, unconvinced with a thick eyebrow raised. 

Hope stares at Lizzie with widened eyes, looking at her incredulously. She risked both of their lives for that?? Her heartbeat quickens its pace and booms in fear while she tries to figure out how they can both escape safely. 

"Uhhh…. yeah! It's totally true!" Hope nods aggressively with a forced smile, internally cringing at how high pitched her voice had become. 

"Well, it doesn't matter anyways cause you're trespassing." He grumbles out as he stares down at Hope, having at least a foot advantage on her. 

"I… well you see, sir… uhhhh…. I can pay you…… about $17 maybe? I….uh….. left my wallet in the car though so… if you wanna just give me the keys Lizzie, I’ll get right on that." Hope rambles on awkwardly as she shifts from foot to foot while holding her hand out, wondering how mad Lizzie would be if she hit someone with her car. 

The man and Lizzie look at each other for a few beats before both bursting into laughter, Lizzie putting her hand on his arm to support herself from falling over. 

"You're so right, she is a horrible actor! Remind me to never play charades with her on my team!" he smiles toothily as he points a thumb at the shorter girl. 

"Okay, what is going on?" Hope frowns as she glares at the still giggling pair. 

Lizzie grins largely and throws her arms out again. "Oh sorry. Ta-dah! This is your real surprise. I brought you to an underground fight club!" 

The man chuckles deeply and shakes his head. "For the last time Lizzie, this is just a gym. With an emphasis in fighting. That also just so happens to be in an inconspicuous location."

"Okay, and you are?" Hope asks with an arched brow, weary of the grinning pair. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Where are my manners? First name Mali, last name Vore. But you can call me Mali." He smiles politely, offering out his humongous hand to shake. 

Lizzie juts her thumb out at him. "Big 'Ole Mali here owns the gym." 

"Oh. Nice to meet you Mali, I'm Hope. I'm Lizzie's…." Hope shakes his hand as she trails off, once again not knowing what her correct title was. 

"Oh, trust me, we know! Almost all of us here have gotten an earful of the girl who swept Striking Saltzman off her feet." he grins largely again as Hope wonders how he was able to frown and be serious for more than a total of five seconds earlier.

Hope knits her eyebrows together. "Striking Saltzman?" she questions, amusement lacing her tone. 

"Yeah, and don't you forget it." Lizzie grins confidently. 

"Come on girls, let's head inside. There could be dangerous things out here. Don't want to run into the wrong kinds of people." Mali states as he walks away and scans the perimeter dramatically, Lizzie following suit. 

"That's funny." Hope chuckles, waiting for the other two to join her but they never do, as they just continue to walk away silently and on full alert. 

"Wait, are you guys serious right now? Hello? Hello??" Hope yells as she chases after them, the two laughing together once again. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Once inside, the first thing Josie notices is the large, weaving pool of clear water located directly in the middle of the restaurant, broken in the middle by a small path made from broken but smooth stones. She also notes that the majority of the space is taken up by an assortment of grass, trees, and flowers that form a miniature garden in the center of the room. 

The second thing Josie notices is the lack of chairs and the barefoot/socked patrons sitting on the floor with cushions, with wooden tables short and close to the ground. The tables are on top of a raised wooden platform that surround and form a makeshift border around the garden, so that people can admire the greenery while they eat. 

The third thing she notices is the seemingly out-of-place, tacky but festive Valentine's Day decorations, such as a large picture of cupid bursting through a heart taped onto the check-in desk; they create random splashes of red and pink around the room, which are stark contrasts to the wooden and paper interior design that line the walls and ceiling. 

Josie audibly gasps as she takes in her surroundings, her eyes scanning the room and instantly falling in love with the place. She's so absorbed with taking it all in that she barely hears Penelope chuckle next to her. "I'm guessing you like the place?" the shorter girl grins knowingly, secretly thrilled at the other girl’s reaction.

"Seriously Pen, how did you get a table?? And on Valentine's Day too!" Josie asks incredulously.

Penelope shrugs nonchalantly. "It's not that big of a deal. I know someone."

"What kind of someone?" 

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Penelope states in faux-seriousness. 

Josie crinkles her nose in response. "You know, I’m starting to notice that everytime we talk, there never fails to be a moment where I strongly suspect you're involved in some sort of crime ring." 

Penelope just laughs and shakes her head. "I find that people like a girl of mystery, no?" she winks flirtatiously as she saunters to the reservation desk. 

Josie exhales audibly and looks up to the ceiling. In a way, she knows Penelope isn’t wrong. Everyone she’s been, to some extent, interested in has been an open book, which was nice and comforting. 

But this whole ambiguous, unclear answers bit that the other girl is doing right now? She would think that it would irritate her to no end, would be extremely unsettling. Instead, as much as Josie hates to admit it, the corny cliché of something along the lines of her being a mystery that she really wants to unravel is totally true. How lame is that?

 _Damn Penelope Park for being so intriguing!_ Josie thinks to herself as she too approaches the desk. 

"Table for two under Park." Penelope says cooly to the available host. 

The host's eyes light up immediately in recognition. "Oh yes, of course. We've been expecting you and your lady all night, Ms. Park." he declares without even looking at the reservation log. "Please wait right here. I will go check on your table." he adds on before walking briskly away. 

“Ew, I’m your lady now?” Josie grimaces in fake cringeness.

“Yeah, I agree, that’s gross.” Penelope nods and Josie is a smidge disappointed in her response.

That is, until Penelope adds on, “You’re your own person and you don’t belong to anyone. That’s so demeaning and minimizes your rights as an independent woman.”

“Ahhh, I see. You Women Studies majors never rest, huh?” Josie teases.

“Ummmm, does the patriarchy ever rest from crushing us, Josie? That’s what I thought.” Penelope jokes back and the two share a laugh together.

The host comes back, delivering news that they are still setting up and it will be a couple of minutes until their table is ready. 

While the pair wait for their table to become available, they can't help but overhear the on-going conversation of a couple around their age with the other host at the reservation desk. 

"I'm sorry Ms. Dean, but it seems as if there’s a problem with your reservation. It’s not showing up on our system.” He says apologetically.

“Are you sure? Can you check again? It’s under Karolina Dean.” the tall, blonde girl replies, frowning deeply. 

The host takes a few seconds to scan the list before speaking again. “Yes, I’m sorry miss. There’s nothing here under that name.”

“It’s okay Karrie, we can go somewhere else. Don’t worry about it.” the shorter, dark-haired goth girl mutters and Karolina looks at her with furrowed eyebrows, clearly unconvinced. “It’s okay, really. I'm just happy as long as I'm with you.” she adds on softly as she rubs the blonde’s back comfortingly.

Karolina flashes a small, thankful smile at the other girl. "That's sweet. But this is unfair, Nico! After everything we’ve been through…" Karolina takes both of Nico's hands into hers "....After everything _you’ve_ been through, you deserve for at least one night to be treated out! With no kids or deinonychus around." 

"Deinonychus?" Penelope mouths to Josie and she just shrugs in response, mirroring the perplexed look on her face. 

Nico smiles fondly at Karolina as she continues on with her little speech. "I’ve been saving up for a while and booked this ages ago just so we could eat here. And this is the only restaurant in LA that does that really cool flame dish thing!!” Karolina pouts adorably, arms crossed in protest. 

“Okay, well do you want me to…..” Nico arches both her eyebrows and bobs her head “...you know?”

Karolina stares at her cluelessly until Nico hand mimes pulling something out of her chest with both hands. “What?? No Nico, not here! Someone will definitely see and we’ll get in trouble!” Karolina exclaims as Penelope and Josie stare at each other with matching bewildered expressions.

“Not in here! We could go outside, I’m sure there’s a bush or something that I could hide behind.” Nico shrugs nonchalantly.

“Uhhh….. hey, is everything okay over here?” Penelope decides to step in, not really wanting to find out whatever the hell this Nico girl is planning to do. 

“Huh? Oh yeah, everything is totally fine." Karolina nods as she flashes a polite smile. 

“Yes, it seems that they don’t have a proper reservation and are trying to secure a table.” the host who helped Penelope before cuts in. 

Penelope briefly looks at the huddled couple and seems to contemplate something before sauntering up to the desk, placing her folded hands dramatically onto the countertop. 

“Now……" Penelope pauses to take a quick look at his nametag. "Chad. We both know that as a restaurant strictly run on reservations, especially one as popular as this _fine_ establishment, you must have overflow tables. My guess is that you have _twice_ as many today for Valentine’s Day, since people are probably willing to pay obscene amounts of money for them. Don’t you think you can spare a single table for my new friends…..” Penelope holds her hand out towards the two girls staring on in curiosity and awe. 

“Uhhhh….. Karolina and Nico?" Karolina offers with a weak smile.

“.....Karolina and Nico? Since, you know, it would be such an _absolute shame_ if word got out that your system is horribly flawed and is preventing us innocent ladies from having a nice night out.” Penelope ends her little request by plastering a sickly-sweet grin onto her face, one that is found to be way more threatening than any scowl.

Chad visibly gulps as he gathers himself to formulate a response. “I- uhhh…. I-I’m not really sure if my supervisor-” he manages to stutter out.

“Orrrr….. do you think I should make a couple of calls? Because I can think of a few people who wouldn’t be all too thrilled to find out I had anything less than an excellent time here tonight.” Penelope smiles a tight closed mouth smile, eyes ablaze with a challenging look.

Both hosts turn to look at each other with enlarged eyes and wildly nervous expressions. Chad starts to nod his head so jerkily to the point where Josie knows he will no doubt have sore neck pains tomorrow.“Uhhh, y-yes, o-of course Ms. Park. I’ll see what I can do. Please excuse me.” he says shakily before quickly rushing away. 

Josie is equal parts impressed and scared with Penelope's performance. 

(She was also equal parts turned on but Josie was just gonna keep that one to herself.)

It did concern her a bit though; Who the fuck was Penelope Park and what kind of power did she hold? It’s hard to believe that the girl who has Baby Shark saved on her phone and took a solid ten minutes just to ask to hang out with her tonight is the same person that could easily make a man cower in fear by just her words and name.

"Wow. That was really incredible." Nico cracks a miniature smile as she slightly shakes her head in disbelief. 

"Totally, that was amazing! Thank you so much, you really didn’t need to!" Karolina beams brightly and Josie thinks she might be the epitome of actual sunlight. 

"It's not that big of a deal. Us girls gotta stick together against men who refuse to give what belongs to us." Penelope grins as she shrugs nonchalantly. 

"Speaking of…." Josie mumbles as Chad comes back with a perfectly crafted smile on his face. 

"Great news, it seems as though a table just became available for you, Ms. Dean. It shall be ready shortly." he nods. 

"That's just awesome. Thank you, sir!" Karolina exclaims excitedly.

"Yeah. Thanks so much." Nico deadpans. 

"You totally saved our Valentine's Day! How can we repay you?" Karolina questions as she turns to face the pair, happily slinging her arm around Nico and pulling her in close. 

"Seriously, don't worry about it." Penelope replies with a lazy wave of her hand. 

Karolina smiles appreciatively as she looks Josie's way. "Your girlfriend is honestly so nice." 

And for just a split second, Josie imagines what it would be like if all of this was real. What it would be like to go out on Valentine's Day and meet other couples. What if would be like to proudly accept compliments on Penelope's behalf. What it would be like to call Penelope hers.

But then she suddenly snaps back to reality, where her and Penelope are nothing more than two friends having a nice dinner on Valentine's Day. Josie mentally frowns in confusion because where the fuck did those intrusive thoughts come from?? That’s weird.

"Ohhh…." "Uhhhh…." Josie and Penelope drag out simultaneously, sharing matching grimaces. 

"What? What is it? Did I say something wrong?" Karolina frowns as she looks to Nico for help and she just shrugs in response. 

"Uhhh no, no! Not at all!" Josie proceeds to blurt out to spare Karolina’s feelings and Penelope shoots her a baffled look. "Well, kind of? It's just that we're…. we’re just friends." she continues on.

"Friends? Getting dinner together alone on Valentine's Day? At Yamashiro?" Nico questions with a confused frown and a furrowed brow, looking directly up at a dangling heart decoration hanging from the ceiling in between Josie and Penelope. 

"Yupp!! Just two friends on a platonic friends outing. That just so happens to be on a holiday that celebrates love." Penelope nods slowly with a closed-mouth smile. 

"Ohhhh, okayyy, that's cool too!" Karolina smiles and nods back, although her face shows that she is still very much confused by the whole situation. 

“Sooo, am I mistaken or did I overhear you say something about a flame dish earlier?” Josie asks as her eyes light up and Karolina nods excitedly in response as she untangles herself from Nico.

Karolina practically bounces over to talk to Josie and Penelope takes this as a cue to switch places with her, her vibe seeming to match Nico's more. 

The two tall girls start to talk to each other animatedly as Penelope and Nico watch on from the other side of the waiting area, content to just stand there and look at Josie and Karolina, respectively.

“So, what exactly were you gonna do behind a bush?” Penelope asks a couple beats later as she turns to face Nico with a quirked brow.

Nico snorts loudly. “Yeah, okay. Like I’m totally gonna tell you what I was gonna do.”

“Hey, I wanna know! Does it have something to do with the dinosaur?” Penelope questions, eyes lit with amusement.

Nico’s mask of indifference briefly shifts to a face of panic before maintaining its stoicness once again. “You overheard that earlier? ‘Cause that was totally a joke.” 

“Sure it was. Who are you really, Nico?” Penelope narrows her eyes in suspicion.

“Why don’t you go first? Who were you threatening to call, Park?” Nico retorts.

Penelope opens and closes her mouth a couple times before replying.“Huh. Touché.” she says as she nods in defeat.

The two stand in silence once again before Penelope decides to break the silence. “Do you guys really have kids though?” she asks as she crinkles her nose.

Nico chuckles lowly at that. “....Something like that. We’re still managing somehow, though.” she says as her eyes shift toward Karolina, who is currently whispering something in Josie’s ear while her eyes shift between Josie and Penelope. 

“I respect that. Must be really hard to get privacy then.” 

Nico scoffs and shakes her head, seemingly frustrated. “Oh my God, you have _NO IDEA_. This is our first night alone together in a _longgg_ time, if you know what I mean. Tomorrow is back to living in a house with 4 kids and a pet who requires a ridiculous amount of attention.” she sighs deeply.

“Yeah, I can only imagine how hard a dinosaur would be to take care of.” Penelope grins knowingly.

Nico opens her mouth, a genuine reply ready on the tip of her tongue before she catches herself and stops, laughing while shaking her head in disapproval. “You’re really sneaky about your intentions, you know that?” 

Nico’s question causes Penelope to involuntarily shift her eyes toward Josie. And as if she could somehow sense eyes on her, Josie suddenly looks over at Penelope and they instantly lock eyes. The taller girl flashes her a small, effortless smile and Penelope returns it back almost immediately. 

Both are too caught up with one another to notice Nico and Karolina exchange knowing looks in the background. And they stay like this, sharing soft gazes for a while until Karolina continuously elbows Josie in the ribs and Josie breaks it. 

Karolina waits for Penelope to avert her eyes to the floor before excessively waggling her eyebrows at Josie; the dark-haired girl scrunching her nose up in response as she swats the blonde’s prodding arm away.

“Maybe I’m just terrified about the consequences.” Penelope mumbles distractedly as she rubs the sides of her boots together. 

"Oh. Huh. I didn't peg you as a type to scare easily.” Nico says as she feigns nonchalance and turns her attention towards the wall, the raven-haired girl just shrugging in reply. 

Nico then lets out a big sigh and tries to will Penelope to look at her. "Look, word of advice? I know it's hard, the letting people in thing.” The raven-haired girl raises her eyebrows and goes to look up at her then, surprised to find brown eyes looking at her with traces of understanding and solidarity. 

Nico’s eyes rapidly gravitate towards Karolina’s direction before she continues speaking. “But when you find the right person, the payoff is more than worth it. Just try not to shut yourself off. Especially when it comes to-"

"Ms. Park, your table is now ready. If you two could just place your shoes on the rack and just follow me." Chad says, interrupting both sets of conversations. 

Penelope watches Karolina hug Josie goodbye and whisper something in her ear before letting her go. She makes a mental note to ask her about it later.

“Sorry, duty calls. Thanks for the advice though.” Penelope gives Nico a closed-mouth smile and a two-fingered salute before walking away.

“Sure thing. Have fun.” Nico nods.

Josie is finishing slipping off her shoes and putting them on the rack by the time Penelope joins her. "Well, it was really nice meeting you both and thanks so much again! We hope you two have a wonderful night together. Full of friendship and platonic love!" Karolina grins cheekily as she winks at Josie and her cheeks involuntarily burn in response. Josie quickly turns to see Penelope’s reaction but the other girl is unaware, clearly focused on putting her shoes away neatly. 

“Yeah, good luck with that.” Nico mumbles as Karolina suppresses a laugh. 

"Thanks! Have a good night you two! Full of romantic love and good food and good fu-!" Penelope grins mischievously as they start to walk away with Chad. 

Josie's eyes widen in alarm as she springs into action to cover Penelope's mouth with her hand, already anticipating the rest of that sentence. 

"Fun! She was definitely going for the word fun. Right Pen?" Josie quickly shoots Penelope a warning look and she enthusiastically nods in response while Nico and Karolina share amused looks.

"Well, we’ll see you around maybe!" Josie genuinely smiles as she and Penelope follow Chad to their table, her hand still fastly secured over Penelope's mouth. 

"Ewwww, gross!! Did you just lick me? You suck, Park!!" The two girls hear Josie yell from out of sight and around the corner, followed closely by loud, vibrant laughter. 

"Well, they're a 200k word friends-to-lover slow burn if I've ever seen one." Karolina chuckles as she shakes her head. 

"No idea what you're talking about, Kar. But if you're saying it, I agree. 100%." Nico smiles as she looks at her girlfriend with heart eyes. 

Karolina's eyes shimmer back with adoration as she leans in to briefly kiss her girlfriend before pulling back and saying, "We should probably send them something nice. As a small thank you."

"You know what, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea." Nico nods in agreement. 

\-----------------------------------------------------

The girls and Mali enter through the side door, which opens up to an enormous storage warehouse with numerous boxing rings lined up straight through center. Some people stand closely to the outside of the rings, watching fights and commenting on techniques or just chatting aimlessly. 

Others take use of the weights and training equipment off to the side, both side walls of the gym littered with weight machines, free weights, dumbbells, jump rope, stretch bands, yoga mats, and any type of workout equipment Hope can possibly think of. Towards the back end, Hope can see machines usually found in a typical gym: treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, Stairmasters, etc. 

"Welcome to the Mali Vore Gym!' Lizzie shouts loudly over the sound of clanking weights, punching pads being struck, and other normal gym raucous. 

"All kinds of people come here to be forgotten and work out off the grid, even just for a couple minutes. It makes a big difference and allows people to blow off some steam, ya know?" Mali booms out effortlessly as he scans his gym proudly. 

"Wow. This is actually really cool." Hope smiles and watches in wonder as they walk through the room, noting how each ring consists of different types of activities going on. The first ring they pass have two men in an all-out sparring match, with on-lookers encouraging the fighters and yelling out suggestions and tips. The second one has a mother and a little girl practicing their kicks together, both faces dripping in sweat and scrunched in concentration. 

"See? Now that's the reaction I was looking for!" Lizzie grins as she punches Hope playfully.

"I've already reserved the last ring for y'all in five minutes." Mali head-motions towards the back of the gym. 

"Awesome, thanks! I'm gonna go see if I can track down some pads. Can you please help Hope get some gloves?" Lizzie asks. 

Mali nods and Lizzie skips away happily, but not before kissing Hope on the cheek and leaving the redhead blushing. 

“Shall we then?” he asks as he grins cheekily at Hope and she nods in agreement.

"You know, Saltzman is a good kid. She has a good and genuine heart, which is rare to find." Mali says as he waves back to a father-daughter pair who greet him as they walk on by. 

"Lemme guess, is this the part where you tell me if I break her heart, you'll break my limbs?" Hope jokes. 

Mali scoffs in offense. "Please. I would never hurt a woman. And for the record, if it ever comes to that, I've trained Lizzie to do that herself." he smiles proudly. 

"Oh, I believe it." Hope replies and the two share a laugh together as they stop in front of the racks lined with boxing gloves. 

"In all seriousness though, you make her really happy, you know that?" 

Hope arches an eyebrow, unconvinced but smiling at the thought of it. "Oh yeah?"

"Here try these on, they look like they'd fit you." Mali declares as he hands her a pair of black boxing gloves. 

"Yeah. She used to be a lot more angry, taking it out on my equipment and drilling really hard. But nowadays, she comes in all happy and humming while hitting stuff. You can definitely tell." he continues, watching Hope put on the gloves and nodding in approval at their fit. 

"Exactly how much has she told you about me?" Hope asks curiously, taking them off and wrapping them around her neck. 

"Oh, more than enough, trust me. And there's also the pictures. My personal favorite is the one where you two are watching a movie on the couch and it's like a selfie and you have your mouth open with a piece of popcorn in it. I've been dying to ask, how does that even happen??" Mali teasingly grins as they continue to make their way through the gym, passing by a ring with a bunch of screaming children running around and a muscular man, who Hope is guessing is an instructor of some sort, trying to round them all up. 

"What?? I told her to delete that one!" Hope yells out incredulously. 

"She definitely did not." he laughs deeply. "But yeah, a good amount of people here have heard about you, Lizzie's…" he trails off as he moves his head in a noncommittal direction. 

"Lizzie's…" Hope parrots back dumbly, hopeful that she'll finally get some answer about her own relationship with Lizzie. 

Mali chuckles. "You know….!" 

Hope frowns in confusion. "No, no I don't know! I'm so confused about it!" 

"You're Lizzie's-" he begins again, before being cut off by the blonde herself. 

"Hey, there you two are! I've found some gear and I've already put it next to the ring." she points her thumb towards the back direction of the building. 

"Well then, I'm going to go check on some stuff now so I'll leave you two to it. Don't destroy her too much, SS." Mali says before lightly ruffling Lizzie's hair and leaving the pair alone. 

"No promises!" she yells out after his retreating boulder of a figure. "Alrighty then. Ready to go, babe?" the blonde grins as she holds her hand out to Hope. 

Hope nods excitedly as she puts her hand in Lizzie’s. "Yeah, I think I'm go-" she starts to say before suddenly being interrupted. 

"Hello, Elizabeth." A voice, possibly British Hope notes, says from behind the blonde, resulting in her dropping Hope’s hand and spinning around quickly. 

"Oh. Hello Sebastian." Lizzie deadpans. 

"It's nice to see you again." He drawls with a slow, proper nod. 

"Is it realllly though?" 

The boy's lips slowly pull back to reveal a too large, toothy grin before replying. "I would like to think so. It’s always nice to see y-"

"Now hold on a sec. And who the hell are you?" Hope inquires as she pops up from the background, face contorted with confusion. 

\-----------------------------------------------------

After the girls sit down and order, Josie looks around and proceeds to tell Penelope almost every single fact she knows about Japanese culture, pointing out intricate details in the restaurant. 

To Penelope's surprise, she actually ends up enjoying herself, entranced by the historical explanations about the architecture and art style, as well as the interior design of the room.

She actually does a pretty decent job convincing herself it's because of the interesting and unique culture that she's never had the opportunity to learn about. 

(But of course, deep down, she knows that's a lie. It obviously has to do with the girl doing the talking, not whatever she's currently talking about.) 

Josie sort of reminds Penelope of an erupting volcano, exploding with fiery passion and constantly flowing with information; it makes Penelope's heart beat happily in her chest, very much content in just sitting and listening to the other girl excitedly explain with exaggerated hand motions for the rest of their night, other plans be damned. 

Unfortunately for the raven-haired girl, about twenty minutes into the onslaught of what could possibly be considered an introductory college course lecture, Josie abruptly stops talking mid-sentence and her face starts to burn, turning a deep shade of red. Even the tips of her ears turn a light pink and Penelope finds it all too adorable. 

"I'm so sorry! Sometimes I get too excited about things and don't know when to shut up. I've basically talked your ear off for the past half-hour!!" Josie hurriedly apologizes. 

Penelope chuckles and shakes her head. "Don't worry about it, there's no need to get embarrassed. I like listening to you talk, you have a real way with words and it's easy to listen to you."

Josie shoots her a look of disbelief. "Now you're just lying."

"What?? No I'm not!" Penelope insists and Josie narrows her eyes at her suspiciously. 

"Trust me, you would know if I was super bored. Just ask MG. I practically have to beg him to stop talking like 70% of the time." Penelope rolls her eyes in annoyance and Josie laughs heartily. 

"And here is your appetizer platter." Their waitress says as she bends down and sets down a large assortment of wontons, shrimp tempura, gyoza, calamari, and spicy tuna.

"Enjoy!" she exclaims enthusiastically before turning and walking away from the table. 

The two girls briefly share equally puzzled looks with one another before Penelope instantaneously yells, "Wait, excuse me! Excuse me, ma'am!"

"Yes, miss?" The waitress questions as she comes back to the table. 

"Yeah, hi. Umm, we didn't order this." Penelope frowns in confusion as she uses both hands to motion towards the platter. 

"Ahh yes. Excuse me, I forgot to hand this to you with it." The waitress says as she pulls out a small cocktail napkin, hands it to Penelope, and walks away again. 

Penelope places it sideways in the middle of the table so that Josie can read the message on it as well. 

_**Hi again! Thanks again for getting us this table! We know that y'all kept insisting it wasn't a big deal but it really was so here's an appetizer on us! Have fun with your… friend date? lol** _

_**-Karolina & Nico ❤❤ ** _

"Wow, that's really nice of them!" Josie says with a surprised tone after reading the note. 

"Yeahhhh, that's not going to fly." Penelope grimaces as she shakes her head and flags down the waitress. 

"What do you mean?" Josie asks, shooting Penelope a look of pure confusion. Was she really going to reject a free gift of thanks from the other girls? 

"Hi again! You remember the two girls who gave you this note?" Penelope asks as she lifts up the napkin and the waitress nods. 

"Okay, I'd like to pay for their whole meal. Which also includes this appetizer platter." Penelope states as she retrieves her credit card from her phone wallet case and hands it over. 

"Of course. I'll be right back." The waitress nods as she briskly walks away.

Josie's jaw drops in pure shock as she stares at Penelope with huge, unblinking eyes. She, on the other hand, is obliviously picking up her chopsticks and is effortfully attempting to pick up a potsticker. 

"Uhhh…. Pen?" Josie asks dumbfoundedly. 

"Hmm?" she replies distractedly, clearly focused on using her chopsticks and not on what Josie's saying, tongue slightly peeking out of her mouth and eyes narrowed in concentration. 

"Are you secretly super rich or something? Or related to someone famous? Or again, I ask, part of an illegal crime/drug ring?" Josie questions suspiciously as she eyes the other girl wearily. 

"Depends on who's asking." The raven-haired girl jokes as the potsticker slides off her chopsticks once again. 

Josie huffs out loudly and pouts, crossing her arms like a child throwing a temper tantrum and the raven-haired girl folds a few seconds later. 

"Oh. Well, I dunno. Would you consider the prince of Indonesia to be famous?" Penelope shrugs nonchalantly as she drops her chopsticks in frustration, giving up the task with a large, noticeable frown.

"WHAT??" Josie screams out loudly as other patrons from surrounding tables fall silent and whip around to look at them curiously. 

Penelope looks at Josie strangely, like her reaction was completely out of the ordinary until she can't hold in her laughter any longer and starts cracking up loudly. "I'm kidding! Holy shit Josie, you're so gullible." Penelope manages to get out between fits of laughter while the rest of the restaurant comes back to life around them. 

"Stop laughing at meee!!" Josie pouts as she reaches across the table and lightly pushes Penelope's shoulder, not pleased with the teasing or the fact that she has once again failed to learn something about the other girl. 

(She won't give up though because like a certain someone once said at game night, she enjoys a good challenge. And also like a certain someone, she's stubborn as hell.) 

"Sorry, sorry, it was just too good." Penelope grins as she picks up her chopsticks again. "Soooo, are you gonna show me how to use these correctly or not?" she adds.

"Only if you tell me your secret." Josie half-heartedly jokes. 

"You'll have to be more specific Jojo. I have lots of secrets." Penelope responds as her eyes begin to glow with mirth. 

"Okay, let's start with how you got this table." she says as she places her folded arms on the tabletop, giving her best business impression. 

"Ughhh, we're back to that? Lame." Penelope groans as she rolls her eyes. "Why can't we just have a nice date?" 

_DATE???_ echoes in Josie's head as she shoots Penelope a weird look; one that's a combination of panic and confusion, which strongly resembles what she's currently feeling at the moment. 

Her heartbeat begins to double in tempo at the possibility of what the other girl had just said. Date. Did she want this to be a date? Did she? 

Then she suddenly remembers who she's talking to; Penelope Park, who she's quickly figuring out uses jokes and distractions as a defense mechanism whenever things start to get personal, emotional, uncomfortable, etc. 

Josie exhales at that, silently willing her heart to slow back down while waiting for the inevitable punchline from the other girl.

And she doesn’t disappoint because after a couple beats, Penelope's brain finally catches up and processes what she's said out loud, her eyes widening comically at the verbal slip-up. "I mean, friend date." 

_Yup, there it is. But that was kind of weird. Almost as if that wasn't on purpose. What if…? Nope, not going down that road. You're better than that._ Josie thinks to herself as she once again repeats the mantra. 

_Feelings are stupid. Expectations are bad. Stop getting your hopes up, Saltzman._

Josie frowns at Penelope in confusion, some in part of what Penelope was trying to do and the other from the mixture of things she felt when thinking about the idea of this being a date. 

"You know what I meant!" Penelope insists in response to Josie's facial expression, her own face starting to turn a bright shade of red as she fixes her eyes on the rapidly cooling food. 

Josie stares at her for a couple of seconds before deciding to put Penelope out of her misery and play it off as a joke instead of pressing the issue; her realizing this is one of the very rare occasions that she's a flustered mess and not wanting to make her any more uncomfortable. 

"Hey, I'm not the one who said it. No need to get testy." Josie feigns innocence as she puts both hands up. 

"I never really understood that word. It sounds too close to the word testes. I'm sure people have gotten in trouble using it inappropriately in serious situations." Penelope grimaces at the thought of it. 

"You're really good at that, you know?" Josie can't help but point out, the words falling from her lips before she can stop them. 

"Good at what? You'll have to be more specific Josie, I'm good at a lot of things." Penelope eyebrow waggles suggestively with a smirk as she grabs her glass and swirls the ice cubes around with the straw. 

"See, like that. Avoiding the subject. Creating distractions. Not talking about feelings." 

Penelope stops stirring so that she can turn her full attention to frowning deeply at Josie with narrowed eyes, really not appreciating how she was called out like that. She lets out a dramatic sigh, making a big show of lifting and dropping her shoulders before setting her glass back down. 

"Fine, you got me. I guess…… I have a problem with.... well…....all that." she finishes stiltedly with a grimace. 

"Mhm. Aaaaand...?" Josie responds, nodding for her to continue.

Penelope slowly runs her hand through her hair while Josie sits across from her, waiting patiently with a closed-mouth, somewhat encouraging smile.

"Uhhhh…., I guess if I had to admit something…." Penelope trails off as she stares at the tabletop and distractedly straightens up her chopsticks on the table. "I don't really open up to people until I know them well enough." she finally confesses, big green eyes looking up to scan Josie's face for a reaction. 

And well, Josie's initial reaction is wanting to burst into laughter. Well, duh! That much was obvious. This girl was so dramatic sometimes, maybe even more so than Lizzie, which Josie really didn't think was possible.

The second was her wanting to express curiosity with underlying worry. It really took Penelope that long to admit something that was so blatantly obvious? Why? Did something big happen to her that caused her to be this way? Is it a cause for concern? 

She kind of just wants to tell the other girl to cut the crap and flat out demand a reason but ultimately decides against it, knowing it probably wouldn't end up going well. Instead, she goes with a less prying route by feigning surprise through a slack jaw and audible gasp. "Wow, really? Never would have noticed unless you told me!" 

"Ha ha, very funny." Penelope rolls her eyes as a hint of a small smile appears on her face. 

"There doesn't have to be but is there a reason for it?" Josie asks cautiously.

Penelope chuckles with amusement as she shakes her head. "Nice try, but isn’t that kind of a Catch-22, Saltzman?" 

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if I tell you the reason I have trust issues, then I would have to trust you to tell you." the raven-haired girl explains.

Josie stares at Penelope for a few seconds, face scrunched up in concentration as she interprets the paradox before eventually shaking her head. "God, that's so confusing."

"Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. But now that we’re here and I'm on a roll with sharing, I should probably also tell you that Hope and MG are two out of four people on a very short list of people I trust."

Josie raises an eyebrow in interest. "Oh? And about how many have tried to make the cut?" 

"To be honest? Too many to count.” Penelope smiles sheepishly.

Josie nods in understanding and the two silently stare at each other for a few moments before Penelope spontaneously decides to bite the bullet. 

If this were any other person, she would make some flirty quips and charm them into dropping the subject. She would take them back to their place for some fun and in the morning, she would silently slip away and never be heard from again.

But this wasn't any other person. This was Josie Saltzman. A passionate, determined, too-kind-for-her-own-good kind-of girl who deserved better than all of that. 

At the very least, she should be warned about the shitshow that is the emotionally unavailable Penelope Park. She owes her that much. 

The raven-haired girl exhales tiredly, plopping her clasped hands onto the table with an audible _thud_ as Josie looks at her with piqued interest. 

“Look, the only reason I'm telling you this is because I don't want you to be disappointed in me. Or become frustrated by the lack of progress from your efforts to get to know me on a personal level. I just want to fairly warn you about what you're getting yourself into, that's all." she finishes before dropping her gaze down to her twiddling thumbs.

In this moment, Josie knows that she should probably take this warning to heart. She knows that this probably won’t be easy, helping Penelope let down her walls that have been built up for God knows how long.

But Josie’s always been a sucker for helping people. 

(She’s also a huge sucker for a cocky, motorbike girl who has been through a lot in her life but we’ll get to that later.) 

"Well then.” Josie says before clearing her throat and Penelope looks up to give her her undivided attention.

“I guess that luckily for me, I've been told once that I'm a bit too competitive." she offers cooly. 

"A bit? And just once?" Penelope snorts. 

"Fine. Not once.” Josie says before taking a small pause and continuing again. 

“Maybe twice." she grins and the two burst out into giggles together. 

"Well, I guess we just have to work on that then." Josie states before awkwardly tapping the table once with her index finger.

"Oh? I admire your confidence but because of trivia night alone, I've seen you threaten like minimum twen-" Penelope starts, amusement laced in her tone.

"Not on being competitive!” Josie hisses out. “Getting to know each other better I mean." she adds on with a much softer tone. 

"Oh." 

Penelope looks genuinely surprised by Josie’s statement, like that was not what she expected her to say at all. Josie starts to think that maybe she read the situation wrong, maybe that isn’t what Penelope wanted. Maybe she-

"I'd actually really like that." Penelope nods as she smiles softly and relief comes crashing down on Josie. 

The two sit in still silence for a couple moments, bashfully smiling at one another while the rest of the restaurant continues to move all around them; the sounds of dull chatter and chopsticks hitting plates and the soft melody of a cheesy love song playing over them on the crackling speaker filling the air. 

"Then……...let's start out with how do you not know how to use chopsticks??" Josie cries out in disbelief as she shakes her head in disapproval. 

"Okay, that's totally not fair! No one really taught me how and the wrappers that have instructions printed on them make it sound super easy but it's really not! I'm otherwise very skilled at everything else! But that's like the one thing I can't do so….!!" Penelope crosses her arms against her chest as she crinkles her nose in frustration. 

"Besides sharing feelings and personal information?" The taller girl instantly replies with a quirked brow. 

"Ouch. Too soon." Penelope grimaces in faux-hurt as she puts her hand over her heart. 

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me." Josie quickly blurts out with a sheepish grin. 

Penelope laughs heartily as she shakes her head. "It's fine, I was totally kidding. But let's start off small with the chopsticks and work our way up from there though. Sound good?" 

"Sounds like a plan." Josie nods as she picks up her chopsticks, ready to teach Penelope a thing or two about using them.

(Unbeknownst to either of them, Josie was also well on her way to teaching Penelope a thing or two about love.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is solely sponsored by my forever on-going Deanoru breakdown. That is all. 
> 
> If you don't know Deanoru, ~~pls don’t interact ever~~ they're Nico Minoru and Karolina Dean from Marvel's Runaways. They’re a couple that’s canon in comic book and TV show form! Check them out if you get a chance, they're fantastic and you won't regret it!! :))
> 
> Oh, and if you didn’t get the Runaways jokes in the story, I’m sorry! Nico is a witch who can summon a magic staff from her body and she and Karolina live with their friends and a dinosaur in an old, underground hostel. I’ll leave links for pictures below!
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to Keirey, who always supports me through my Deanoru breakdowns. It’s also dedicated to those who have told and asked me to update, thanks for not giving up on me!
> 
> ABSENCE EXPLANATION TIME: Anyways, so I know I said I would update weekly with medium sized chapters. But some family things came up and stuff so I’ve been really busy with that. :/ It kinda sucked cause I wanted to get all the chapters with this night BEFORE Valentine’s Day but I sortaa dropped the ball on that one. :( 
> 
> Moving forward, I’m not really sure what updating is gonna look like but I’ll try my best! It definitely won't take as long as it took to release this one and I’m so sorry once again! :(( 
> 
> P.S. Bonus points if you found and recognized my Shoot Reference this chapter!
> 
> LINKS FOR PICTURES: Yamashiro: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2nkv_BWsAIm_Zf.jpg
> 
> https://images.otstatic.com/prod/26042628/1/huge.jpg
> 
> (Mayhaps I made some minor changes to details but this was what I was trying to describe for the most part.)
> 
> Deanoru: (Show): https://tv-fanatic-res.cloudinary.com/iu/s--4lOZKRDy--/f_auto,q_auto/v1576464007/deanoru-marvels-runaways-season-3-episode-8
> 
> (Comics): https://66.media.tumblr.com/ef6703cc2601d736b4c2324d35ad52d2/tumblr_pfdo69sz591wvvyspo2_250.png
> 
> Nico and her Staff: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/2/25/Nico_Minoru_%28Earth-616%29_and_Staff_of_One_001.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130923143921
> 
> Chapter title from Sway by Tove Styrke
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments below!
> 
> Please be gentle looool
> 
> Also, kudos are greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter @karo_deanminoru
> 
> OR 
> 
> (NEW!) ask me a question anonymously (about legacies, life, whateves) on curiouscat!
> 
> curiouscat.me/lolwhatisthis16


End file.
